Outside Fundraising Group, Launched By Democrats

Priorities USA, Outside Fundraising Group, Launched By Democrats

NEW YORK — Democratic strategists close to President Barack Obama have launched an outside fundraising group to support his re-election, financed in part by the kind of large, undisclosed contributions the president has criticized.

Former White House aides Bill Burton and Sean Sweeney said Friday that the group, called Priorities USA, will battle the "extremist, right-wing" efforts of Republican-leaning independent groups who spent millions to defeat Democrats in the 2010 midterm elections. The group's goal is to raise $100 million for what is certain to be the most expensive election in history.

American Crossroads, founded by former President George W. Bush political adviser Karl Rove, and Americans For Prosperity, founded by billionaire oil brothers David and Charles Koch, spent heavily in last year's elections and have pledged to invest millions in 2012 to defeat Obama.

After the Supreme Court cleared the way last year for independent groups to raise and spend money to influence elections, many Democrats, including Obama, spoke out against such practices, suggesting it allowed large special interests to hijack the electoral process. But in an interview, Burton said Democrats could no longer stand by and allow GOP-leaning groups to hold an unfair advantage.

"It has everything to do with Karl Rove and the Koch Brothers. As long as they play by one set of rules, we're not going to be boxed in by a double standard," Burton said.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/2 ... 55528.html


My, my... I guess for Rove it's a case of "Do as we say--Not as we do..." So, it's okay for American Crossroads and the Koch Brothers to do it, but now somehow it's not okay?

rofllol

They may beat the GOP machine at their own game...

So if you are a corporation and give to an outside funding group, do you lose influence on getting tax credits and the like? Or will Obama, Boehner, & Reid know where the money is coming from?