Stop Karl Rove's PAC

A message from CREDO Action:
Just in case corporations and the ultra-wealthy didn't already have far too much power in our elections, leave it to Karl Rove.

Rove and his Super PAC American Crossroads want to tear down the thin wall that prevents Super PACs — which can accept unlimited, easily hidden contributions — from running ads coordinated directly with candidates and their campaigns — which have strict contribution limits.

The prohibition on coordination is one of the few remaining rules separating our so-called democratic elections from becoming a no-holds-barred, corporate cash free-for-all. So it's no surprise that Rove has asked the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) if he can get around it, by running coordinated political advertisements, featuring candidates the PAC is supporting.

The FEC has already issued four draft opinions. It is supposed to issue a final ruling within days and is accepting public comments on Rove's request.

Tell the FEC: Reject Karl Rove's Super PAC power grab. Submit a comment now.

The deeply damaging Citizens United decision opened the floodgates to unlimited corporate donations and spending by Political Action Committees, so long as they were independent of the campaign.

But Rove's FEC request flouts even that. In a truly "what the definition of 'is' is" moment, Rove literally states that what is coordinated, shouldn't be considered coordinated:

"While these advertisements would be fully coordinated with incumbent Members of Congress facing re-election in 2012, they would presumably not qualify as 'coordinated communications,'."

And yet, three of the four draft responses posted by the FEC would allow Rove's American Crossroads Super PAC, to air these coordinated-yet-not-coordinated ads featuring, and approved by, political candidates.¹

The limits that exist to prevent coordination between Super PACs, officially known as "independent-expenditure only committees," and political candidates are already astonishingly weak — allowing discussion of strategy, and even for candidates to fundraise directly for a Super PAC.²

Now Rove wants to use these unlimited pots of Super PAC money to essentially fund candidate's official advertising campaigns. That's going way, way too far. And we need to tell the FEC to stop it.

Tell the FEC: Reject Karl Rove's Super PAC power grab. Submit a comment now.

In some ways, this is like fighting over bread crusts when what you really want is a whole sandwich.

To truly heal our democracy we need to overturn the Citizens United decision, and reduce the ability of corporations and the ultra-wealthy to drown out the voices of everyday people in elections.

Unfortunately, that hasn't happened yet — so our democracy is serious trouble, and right now, these paltry, insufficient limits are all we've got. We can't let Karl Rove and the FEC take them away.

Tell the FEC: Reject Karl Rove's Super PAC power grab. Submit a comment now.

Elijah Zarlin, Campaign Manager
CREDO Action from Working Assets

1. "Four Ways The FEC Could Rule On Uncoordinated Coordination By American Crossroads," Talking Points Memo, November 28, 2011
2. "Uncoordinated Coordination: Six Reasons Limits on Super PACs Are Barely Limits at All," Talking Points Memo, November 21, 2011