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Exclusive: MoveOn To Close Its 527 In Response To Obama's Candidacy

by GOP_Rebel | June 21, 2008 at 5:46 PM
in

Yesterday, Talking Points Memo posted this exclusive regarding MoveOn.org:

MoveOn, the advocacy group supporting Barack Obama, has decided to permanently shutter its 527 operation, partly in response to the Illinois Senator's insistence that such groups should not spend on his behalf during the general election, I've learned from the group's spokesperson.

MoveOn's decision, which will dramatically impact the way it raises money on Obama's behalf, is yet another sign of how rapidly Obama is taking control of the apparatus that's gearing up on his behalf.

By shuttering its 527, MoveOn is effectively killing its ability to raise money in huge chunks from labor unions, foundations, and big donors who would give over $5,000. The decision doesn't mean MoveOn will stop spending on Obama's behalf. Instead it will raise money exclusively with its political action committee, whose average donation is below $50 and will even be raising money with things like bake sales starting this weekend.

To put this in perspective, MoveOn's 527 raised $20 million for the general election in 2004 -- and at least half of that came from donations over $5,000.

"This is an affirmation that we, like Senator Obama, believe that this election can be won by ordinary Americans giving small donations," MoveOn spokesperson Ilyse Hogue told me.

MoveOn's 527 has been dormant since 2005, but the group had held open the option of starting it up it for the 2008 election -- until Obama's success with small donors showed that huge sums could be raised without it.

The move could also make it tougher politically for John McCain and the GOP to benefit from 527s, which can raise money in unlimited sums, on his side. While he has generally disapproved of such activity, he recently said that he couldn't control negative ads by such groups.

"The hope is that Republicans will match this, so that the voices of ordinary Americans can drive this election," Hogue said.

Late Update: It should be noted that the group has not traditionally been driven by large donations during non-presidential race times. It has raised $122 million since it opened in 1998 -- and only 10% came in donations of over $5000. But during the 2004 race, of course, it was another story.

In a post published on Real Clear Politics today titled How to Hit Obama, Robert Novak wrote

Leaders of Sen. John McCain's campaign are looking toward "527s" as their principal means of attacking Sen. Barack Obama because they have been given a green light by McCain.

Are things about to get interesting?  Now if only we could add that voters for John McCain could look forward to drilling for oil in ANWR because they have been given a green light by McCain...

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methinks this is smoke and mirrors

Submitted by Ironman on Sat, 06/21/2008 - 18:14.

Watch Soros, Geffen and other gazillionaires set up some new 527 under some name we haven't heard of and blindside us since we think without Moveon in the game, the threat of 527 hatchet jobs is over.

 

What a laugh.

Submitted by Jon Sandor on Sun, 06/22/2008 - 09:29.

Leaders of Sen. John McCain's campaign are looking toward "527s" as their principal means of attacking Sen. Barack Obama because they have been given a green light by McCain.

 

Is this the same McCain who used to blast 527's as violating his precious CFR bill? Looks like Obama is not the only hypocrite.

But read this.

GOP thirdparty effort nonexistent.

Conversations with more than a dozen Republican strategists find near unanimity in the belief that, at some point, there will be a real third-party effort aimed at Obama.

But not one knows who will run it, who will pay for it, what shape it will eventually take or when such a group may form.

More worrisome for Republicans who believe such an outside attack apparatus is essential to defeating Obama, some key individuals and groups who were being looked to for help say they won’t be involved.

T. Boone Pickens, the Texas oilman who gave $3 million to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and who numerous GOP sources said was being looked to as a funding source this year, is sitting the race out.

“He is not giving anything to 527s involved in the presidential race this cycle, and has communicated that…to Republican strategists and operatives,” said Pickens spokesman Jay Rosser.

Yes, obviously McCain-Feingold is an albatross, BUT

Submitted by lagomorph on Sun, 06/22/2008 - 14:46.

(and that's a BIG BUT), will it be a showstopper for Conservative contributors?

I tripped across this opinion by Brad Smith, Capital University Law Professor, on the topic back in January of this year:

I think that conservative law professors, who as I say, probably care more about the issue of judges and are on average in a better position to consider the candidates on this particular issue than are most other conservative activists, don't like what they see in McCain. Some of it is the problem of McCain-Feingold.  McCain is likely to make support for McCain-Feingold - an issue he has said is "of transcendent importance" to him - a litmus test for judges. It is very hard, however, to find judicial candidates who think McCain-Feingold is constitutional yet who are also are anti-Roe v. Wade and generally respectful of the Constitution. For anyone with a coherent judicial philosophy of federalism and limited government, the two just don't go together. When McCain says he wants to appoint justices like Thomas and Scalia, we must consider that Thomas and Scalia would overrule all of McCain-Feingold, indeed all pre-existing campaign finance law except perhaps some disclosure. It is almost impossible to believe that Senator McCain would appoint Thomas or Scalia to the bench, let alone the Supreme Court.

This sheds a bit more light as to why McCain-Feingold enrages Conservatives and is likely to cause potentially big 527 donors like Pickens, Forti and Adelson to sit this one out - for now. 

On the other hand, another Volokh contributor, Orin Kerr, had this to say:

Perhaps a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, but I would think that this methodology as applied to campaign finance would lead a truly consistent conservative judge to be inclined to uphold McCain Feingold under old fashioned Thayeresque principles of judicial restraint, regardless of the merits of such legislation as a matter of policy. Of course, conservative legal thought comes in many diverse strands, so of course it's not the only result a conservative judge could reach. But if you believe that legal principles should be applied consistently, without regard to which party's ox is being gored, I would think this would be a strong and principled conservative approach.

Obviously the Politico article is 2 months more recent than the April National Journal post on Rove's leadership and coordination in this area:

Publicly, Karl Rove is busy penning columns, appearing on television, giving speeches and writing a book, but the former White House political guru is spending time out of the limelight trying to nurture new independent political groups aiming to raise tens of millions of dollars to boost the entire Republican ticket in November.

Six GOP consultants and lobbyists — with varying knowledge of Rove’s activities — told National Journal that Rove has been working for a few months to help line up resources and devise strategies for spending that money to help his party keep the White House and stave off losses in the House and Senate. Rove has had regular chats with GOP operatives he has worked with in Washington, and several prominent Republican donors nationwide — including some billionaires who were active in similar groups during the 2004 election cycle.

“Karl is up to his eyeballs in this,” says one prominent GOP consultant who has met with Rove a few times this year. “They’re trying to figure out who is going to do the presidential, who is going to do the Senate and who is going to do the House. They’re trying to assign resources to maximize the dollars and minimize duplication. Karl has taken it over.”

To be effective, he adds, they need to raise “at least $100 million,” a sum that is likely to be at least what similar Democratic outside groups will spend. Rove didn’t return four phone calls in recent weeks seeking comment for this story.

It's possible that Rove's good ole boy network will bring home the goods in the Fall even though they appear (strategically?) to be sitting this one out at the moment.   I would never misunderestimate either the strategy to encourage votes against Obama as opposed to for McCain, or the Boy Genius when it comes to achieving results - by any means necessary.  Mmmm, I can just hear him now: "Malcom, you magnificent bastard, I read your book!". 

~ General Bunny-Bun