IRS To Crack Down on Bogus "Social Welfare" Tax Exempt Political Groups

Image from source, ThinkProgress

Good!

[Excerpt]

Treasury And IRS To Crack Down On Super PACs Masquerading As Tax-Exempt Social Welfare Groups
 
The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service issued proposed guidelines on Tuesday that could force dark-money political groups like Crossroads GPS and the American Future Fund to spend less of their money on campaign advertising and other overt electioneering. If implemented, this guidance would clarify what actions by tax-exempt social welfare organizations are limited “candidate-related political activity” and what actions can count toward their principal purpose. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Karl Rove Pisses Off Conservatives With New Anti-Tea Party Initiative

Don't pull it! Image from Washington Post

In my previous post, I mentioned people who should not be asked for their opinion on news shows. I forgot an entire category of individual: the always wrong pundit/pollster/political operative. Nobody had more egg on his egg-shaped face than Karl "Turd Blossom" Rove, after his disastrous election night, in 2012. Not only did Karl spend hundreds of millions of other peoples' dollars, it was almost entirely without return on investment. Add to that fact that he'd been predicting GOP wins almost across the board, and was so convincing to conservatives, they all convinced themselves he was right. Karl himself had a bit of a meltdown, right on camera, on FOX "News."

So--you would think--Rove would be washed up, washed out, wrung out, hung up, left to dry out, right? No, for some reason, his American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS organizations still exist, and apparently still suck up money somehow. And now, Rove has started a new initiative, the Conservative Victory Project, which has as its goal, to de-crazy and de-tea-bag the GOP. Which is hilarious, because it was Karl himself, and the movement he was a part of that birthed all of the looniness! They riled up the rabble, and the rabble took over. Karl is now trying to put the teabags back in the wrapper. Good luck with that, tubby!  'Cause the rabble isn't digging it! I may not have gotten my frog-march, but I love, love, love any Rove-related schadenfreude I can get.

[Excerpt]

Karl Rove’s new ‘Conservative Victory Project’ earns conservative ire

The news that former Bush administration adviser Karl Rove is launching an effort to keep less-electable conservative Republicans from winning primaries has stirred up anger on the right. . .

Read more at: Washington Post

Karl Rove in More Trouble?

Yeah, keep smilin' Karl. . .

As an atheist, I can't pray without feeling like an idiot. But I can still cross my fingers and hope like nobody's business. Oh great noodly FSM, please do me a solid, and let me see a Karl Rove frog-march before I die?

[Excerpt]

Watchdog: Karl Rove And His Crossroads GPS Broke Election Law By Failing To Disclose Donors

I've been waiting so long. . .oh please, oh please!

. . .Federal law requires any outside group that makes an independent expenditure to disclose the donors who contributed to pay for such ads. Groups like Crossroads GPS normally evade this law by claiming none of their contributions were earmarked for a specific purpose. At an August 2012 fundraiser, however, Rove said an anonymous donor gave Crossroads GPS $3 million specifically for the Ohio Senate race, and told Rove it was a “matching challenge” dependent on the group raising another $3 million for the race. Crossroads GPS ended up spending $6.36 million on independent expenditures in the Ohio race, but did not disclose any donors in nine reports the group filed with the FEC. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Karl Rove in Trouble?

Image from source, Think Progress.

For the first two thirds of the Dubya administration, I wished all sorts of festering pustules and other maladies upon Karl Rove. There were a lot of figures in that group for me to loathe, but Rove was at the top of my list. After the outing of CIA agent, Valerie Plame Wilson, the heat was turned up under Rove, and I had dreams of the proverbial frog-march in shackles, but it never came to pass. Still, Rove was ejected from the White House, and installed as a lowly "Republican strategist" on FOX "News." Where he clearly fit in.

Flash forward a bit, and Rove had become a power-player, a king-maker! I sat stupefied, wondering how this lowly, sleazy, skeevy toad could have landed so squarely on his cloven feet. To make matters worse, he was playing both roles, the behind-the-scenes (purse) string puller, and the on-camera commenter. If I happened upon FOX, and caught him and Liz Cheney at the same time, it was enough to almost give me an aneurism.

And then? I had a schadenfreudegasm. All of Rove's best-laid plans collapsed on election night. Even better, he was on camera as it toppled, awkwardly and futilely trying to pull his alternate reality into existence. He had egg on his face. And he spent the (Sheldon Adelson) casino's money with no return! Is someone measuring him for cement shoes? Well, we don't know yet. But it would seem that Rove might have other problems. . .

[Excerpt]

EXCLUSIVE: Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS Never Filed Legally Required Registration

When Karl Rove’s Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies (GPS) formed in 2010, it established its official address in Warrenton, VA, and registered with the Internal Revenue Service a tax-exempt 501(c)(4) “social welfare organization.” It apparently did not, however, register as a charitable organization with the Commonwealth of Virginia, as appears was legally required. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

American Future Fund's Brazenly Dishonest Biden Ad

Ugh. When I saw this ad, it churned my stomach, but not for the reasons intended by American Future Fund. I didn't know it was possible to out-sleaze Karl Rove's Crossroads group's ads, but this anonymous donor group did it. In Thursday night's Vice Presidential debate, Joe Biden was criticized--mostly by sour grapes Republicans--for smiling and laughing. In context, it was clear that Biden's scoffing was a way of saying, "can you believe this guy?" when Paul Ryan was telling whoppers.

American Future Fund pretends that Biden was laughing at death and destruction, which is ludicrous. Below the belt. Out of bounds. Sleazy. Disgusting. Shameful. Whoever is behind this group ought to be ashamed, but I seriously doubt they're capable of it.

Karl Rove Resurrects Obama's Alleged "Vegas" Slam

Image from source, CNN

As I've reported before, former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman has made a major stink on a couple of occasions, when he thinks that President Obama has dissed Las Vegas and/or Nevada. The first time, Obama was saying that bailed out banks shouldn't be sponsoring lavish junkets on the taxpayer's dime. Reasonable, you might even say conservative. The second time, Obama was talking about financial priorities. He wasn't saying not to go to Las Vegas--or anywhere else. He was saying you don't gamble away money that you can't afford. But Goodman was always an attention seeker, and he milked both statements for all they were worth. [Story continues below]

The quotes in question. Click to embiggen.

Karl Rove is now beating that dead horse. And true to form, his ad makes it seem that Obama's comment is devoid of context: the Prez apparently just hates Vegas, don'tcha know? Worse, it is also implied that this statement is more recent than it is (2010). If you didn't know the context, you'd think that when Las Vegas was in its deepest despair, President Obama gleefully twisted the knife. I want "Crossroads" to become more widely known to equal "Karl Rove," and I want people to picture his face every time his group puts their name on an ad. To me, when I hear, "this ad paid for by American Crossroads/Crossroads GPS", what I hear is, "The previous political ad is utter bullshit, or at best, some cherry-picked facts stirred with bullshit, and served with bullshit gravy."

[Excerpt]

Crossroads GPS bets against Obama in Nevada ad

Ahead of President Barack Obama's campaign trip to Las Vegas Wednesday, the private arm of the Karl Rove-backed super PAC American Crossroads released a new ad in Nevada targeting the president over the economy."

After gambling your money on his failed stimulus, President Obama says, 'Don't blow a bunch of cash on Vegas'," the ad's narrator says. "He doesn't get it. In Nevada, tourism means jobs. Under Obama, nearly 62,000 fewer Nevada jobs. . ."

Read more at: CNN

Sherrod Brown Clashes with Challenger in Ohio

Image from source, Cleveland.com

In an earlier post, I commented on the super PAC activities blanketing our airwaves with attack ads, and specifically one of the contests in Ohio. I grew up in Columbus, and still have family there. What I'm hearing is that well-liked Senator Sherrod Brown is just getting buried in ads from groups like Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS, even though his challenger is kind of twerpy and allegedly quite the liar.

Fortunately, Brown is not new to politics, and he's not going down without a fight. But will a fight be enough? Can Brown beat a 5-to-1 ad blitz? If the other side has a lousy product to sell, will all the advertising in the world be able to sell it anyway? Given Ohio's recent political behavior--some good, some really frightening--I guess it could go either way.

[Excerpt]

Josh Mandel, Sherrod Brown spar at meeting for Plain Dealer endorsement

In their first Northeast Ohio face-off, U.S. Senate candidates Sherrod Brown and Josh Mandel ripped into each other, questioning each other's truthfulness during an endorsement interview Friday at The Plain Dealer offices. . .

Read more at: Cleveland.com

Karl Rove's Big, Sleazy Comeback

Image from Crooks & Liars

Back in the waning days of the Bush administration (not coincidentally, in the early days of this blog), I was eagerly anticipating the "frog march" of Karl Rove, in shackles, into a jail cell. It was a delicious, delirious fantasy of mine back then. I will cop to having had a fairly strong case of Bush Derangement Syndrome, but will also insist that I had a good, honest case of it. This wasn't a day-after-the-election affliction, I gave W's crew time, especially after September 11, 2001.

But that ended some time after the Iraq War started, and then over the ensuing, torturous months and years, from torture to the outing of Valerie Plame. The Bush administration was an odd amalgamation of evil, incompetence, ego, swagger, bullshit and lies. All smothered in a film of greasy sleaze. His name was Karl Rove. While you could point your finger at Lee Atwater or maybe even Newt Gingrich for the poisoning of our political process, Rove is the one who cranked the dial on the alternate reality machine to 11, with lots of help from Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Tom DeLay, and others.

Sometimes, I still dream about it. Though I don't think
he was ever this svelte. Image from Crooks & Liars.

No lie was too big, no falsehood too elaborate. Rove and crew would say something clearly and on the record, and then deny having said it. They'd pretty much tell you to pay no attention to your lying eyes, and listen to them. They knew the truth. And you know what happened. The administration is so despised, they had little role in either the 2008 or the 2012 Republican National Conventions, nor much in the actual campaigns.

Except for Rove. His twin entities, CrossroadsGPS and American Crossroads are superfunders of candidates all over the country, from lowly, back-bench Congressional candidates to powerful, well-known Senators, and of course the presidential race. Rove--seldom depicted by anyone other than arch conservatives as absolute pond scum--has made himself over as a king maker.  The man George W. Bush referred to as "Turd Blossom" is waggling his piggishness right under our noses, playing a huge part in the electoral process (both with straight advocacy ads, and bullshit "issues" ads*), while appearing on FOX "News" as a paid political consultant, as though he's just commenting upon the proceedings.

Rove's big target in Nevada,
Shelley Berkley. Image from Wiki

If you live in a battleground state, or simply one that has a Congress or Senate seat prime for the picking, you've been seeing Crossroads ads. Here in Nevada, Shelley Berkley, a long-term Congresswoman, is running for John Ensign's old seat. After Ensign resigned in disgrace, Congressman Dean Heller--who now has the distinction of voting for the "Ryan Plan" to voucherize Medicare twice--was appointed to the Senate, and is thus the incumbent. Heller hasn't been a very distinguished Congressman in either house, as far as I can tell. Berkley on the other hand, is a Nevada institution, beloved by her constituency, even treated kindly on right-wing talk radio.
 
Until now. Now, she's apparently just awful. Or you'd think so, if you ever watch television or listen to radio. We are deluged with anti-Berkley ads with vague charges of impropriety, nearly all from outside groups, chiefly Rove's Crossroads GPS. They air nearly as frequently as the anti-Obama ads. Which means, they really, really want to retain Heller's seat, and they're gambling (ha!) that we'll forget about Ensign and of course, Heller's voting record. What's in it for Rove? Apparently, big bucks. It's sure not reputation, except with the Republican establishment, I guess.

Back in Ohio, my home state, one of the main targets it Sherrod Brown, a well-liked and outspoken Democratic Senator. Only, in Ohio, Brown is an incumbent, so he needed a challenger. By all accounts I've heard, the guy they got to run against him--Josh Mandel--is kind of a twerp. And a lying one at that. From the sounds of it, he's kind of like the Paul Ryan speech at the RNC, but all the time. Dishonesty, however, is not a disqualifier for public office in the Republican Party. Especially this year. And it is certainly not a disqualifier for support from Rove's big-money groups.

Josh Mendel, left, challenging Sherrod Brown.
Image from Cleveland.com

Which is a long way to go to say that this political season, all is not as it seems. Political ads have always been down and dirty, but now they are not only more numerous, they are much shadier. Rove's aren't the only groups out there doing this. But like his, a lot of them aren't beholden to anybody, or at least no one we know about. In some cases we don't know who is funding the groups, and in some cases may be of foreign extraction. How would we know? All I ask is that if you hear some horrible, terrible no good "facts" about a candidate, and it's a group like Rove's doing the alleging? Either tune it out, or do your homework, find out if it's just a turd blossom.


*Note: "Issue Advocacy" ads are the smelliest of the bullshit ads. They're the ones that allegedly do not advocate for any specific candidate, but only for an issue. This skirts some legal technicality somewhere, and it's part of the reason why Rove has two groups. In this type of ad, you can still play ominous music, can still talk about a candidate, but you have to couch it in terms like "Call President Obama. Tell him to support drilling in the gulf. . ." or some nonsense, but it's technically not an anti- Obama ad. Both sides do it, true, but guess who's got the pocketbook.

Karl Rove Thinks it's "Stupid" to Bring Up Reverend Right Again

Turdblossom. Image from source, Raw Story.

Yes, it's true. Karl Rove thinks attacking President Obama using Reverend Right--again--is "stupid." But, I'm really more concerned about Rove himself, and his position at FOX "News." What in the world are they doing, using him as a commentator on the election? He--in his capacity running Crossroads GPS and American Crossroads--is a major player in the election, thanks to the Citizens United Supreme Court decision! Does this not scream "conflict of interest?" It is sure as hell not fair and balanced.

[Excerpt]

Rove: Attacking Obama with Rev. Wright is ‘stupid’

. . .“So, you want to try and do things that are helpful, not hurtful. And look, I thought it was very smart for the Romney campaign to immediately go out an denounce the tactic. It certainly sent a message to everybody in America what they wanted the campaign to be about. And it certainly sent a message to people involved in the super PACs, don’t be doing stupid things like this. . .”

Read more at: The Raw Story

Karl Rove's "Cool President" Ad Backfires

Showing Barack Obama being cool in various venues is probably not a good idea for Karl Rove's super-dollar SuperPAC. I know Karl thinks it's a great idea to take an opponent's strength and try to use it against him, but in this case, it's a huge fail. And is Karl going to disavow Sarah Palin, who quit her job in politics to become the conservatives' biggest celebrity? Because that's all she is.

Anyway, to the question of are we better off than we were in the waning days of the Bush Administration? Yes, actually. We're not losing jobs anymore. We're in one less war. Osama bin Laden is dead. Chrysler and GM are alive. The stock market has doubled. We're not out of the woods, but we're headed there. And what does Romney (via Karl) promise? The same crap that took us to the brink in the first place? No thanks. I'll take the cool guy.

Karl Rove SuperPAC Gets Majority "Secret" Donors

Karl Rove.

There are a great many mysteries to me, as it pertains to conservative politics, and American politics in general right now. On Sunday morning, I saw Karl Rove as a panelist on FOX "News" Sunday. The panel included (the always wrong) Bill Kristol, and the discussion was over how Mitt Romney should be going 100% high-road, letting people like Rove be the attackers on President Obama. Rove understandably concurred.

WTF? Karl Rove wasn't being interviewed, he was empaneled in a discussion group, abstractly discussing a campaign that he is a key player in. It's almost surreal. Then you have ALEC, a group that melds corporations with legislators. They've become a bit radioactive since liberals started turning their Geiger counters on them. But--because liberals hate it?--conservatives have leapt to to ALEC's defense. Granted, they are a creator of legislation that then gets mostly Republicans to enact them verbatim. But is it at all conservative to support a group like that?

But back to Rove. Rove runs one of the biggest groups of SuperPACs, two actually, American Crossroads, and CrossroadsGPS. They're the same but different in ways that aren't particularly important. Different money from different people in different pockets. But the one that's allowed to get secret donors has just stuffed its pockets with them. 62% from secret donors! They could be anyone. . .church groups, criminals, illegal aliens, foreign interests, anyone. How is that a conservative ideal?

[Excerpt]


62 Percent Of Karl Rove’s $123 Million In ‘Crossroads’ Fundraising Comes From Secret Donors

The Karl Rove-linked American Crossroads Super PAC and Crossroads GPS 501(c)(4) organizations have the same president, same spokesman, same mailing address, and same right-wing ideology. Both groups can, thanks to the Citizens United and SpeechNow.org rulings, accept unlimited sums of money from individuals and corporations — a privilege they’ve wielded to raise $100 million for the 2012 cycle alone and to run millions of dollars worth of political television ads. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Stephen Colbert's Super Pac!

I got dragged into a few political squabbles with my (conservative) parents while back in Ohio last week. I tried to avoid it, but sometimes it just happens. But as is the case with many "lifelong" conservatives, my parents' political knowledge often tends to be shallow and selective. For instance, neither was familiar with the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling, that essentially affirmed that corporations are "people," and their money "free speech."

 So, my folks might be a bit mystified by Stephen Colbert (of Comedy Central's Colbert Report), and his new "Super PAC." Super PACs are newly possible organizations, who can take unlimited amounts of money from corporations, and they don't have to disclose who they are. So, essentially, a Super PAC (like Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS) could theoretically take millions of dollars from a multi-national corporation, and funnel it into a strategic political race, dwarfing the opposition's spending. It is not inconceivable that foreign interests could effectively "buy" a candidate this way.


So, Colbert established his own Super PAC. Its goals are not clear, though they are surely to lampoon this outrageous circumstance we find ourselves in. Colbert has made two ads that are running in Iowa now. In both cases, he's urging Iowa Straw Poll voters to write in "Rick Parry" (rather than Perry), for unknown reasons. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough. But in the meantime, the videos are pretty amusing.

Bachmann Disproves GOP's "Obama's Blank Check" Line

"Whoops!"

A couple of weeks ago, I commented in this space about Karl Rove's CrossroadsGPS "Obama's Blank Check" attack ads. The bit about a blank check has been used in politics forever, but of all the charges against Obama, it's kind of a weird one. And since those ads started running, we've been hearing the line from (of course) FOX "News" and right-wing talk radio. Worse, John Boner Boehner used it in his tragically lame, fact-free "rebuttal" to President Obama's address the other night. And now, Mitch McConnell.

Along with the blank check charge, is the "Obama's spending binge" line. What? When? The stimulus? The one most economists agree worked, but would have been much better if it was bigger? WTF are they talking about? Well, I can only say it's a nice bit of kismet that Michele Bachmann herself has disproved the entire notion!

[Excerpt]


Whoops! Michele Bachmann inadvertently proves key GOP talking point false

. . .Of course, if Congress ultimately determines spending — which of course it does — there’s no way raising the debt ceiling would constitute giving President Obama a “blank check,” as John Boehner and other Republicans keep falsely insisting. . .

Read more at: The Plum Line