Dawn of the Mommy and Daddy PACs
Tom Murphy even held a fundraiser for his son’s campaign before the super PAC donation became public, while Johnson said candidate Murphy hasn’t ruled out appearing at an American Sunrise event.
Expect such arrangements to become more common and accepted in the big money era spawned by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision and a lower-court ruling that led to the creation of super PACs, Johnson predicted.
Continue Reading“Especially now, with Citizens United and the money free-for-all, I think we’re one cycle away from family giving to someone’s super PAC being a dog-bites-man story,” he said. “If you ask the average voter whether they think it’s more problematic for someone to be getting outside campaign support from Big Oil or outside support from their aunt, I think most people would not be all that worried about their aunt.”
But beneficiaries of family-backed super PACs also have opened themselves up to allegations they’re trying to buy elections.
Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas) blamed the $240,000 in attack ads against him — supplemented by $38,000 from a company owned by the father-in-law of victorious challenger Beto O’Rourke — for helping thwart his bid for a ninth term in Congress when he lost a May primary. It’s evidence “of how special-interest money and family wealth is being used to undermine the vote and will of the people,” charged Reyes.
In 2010, Stephen Fincher took offense when the brother of one of his opponents for the GOP nomination to a Tennessee congressional seat dropped about $1 million on independent expenditures.
“One of the richest families in Tennessee is trying to buy our congressional candidates, spending millions falsely attacking Stephen Fincher,” warned a narrator in a response ad from Fincher’s campaign. Fincher eventually won the primary and later the seat.
Former U.S. attorney George Holding faced charges he would be “beholden” to the “massive and possibly unaccountable special-interest money” behind a family-funded super PAC, alleged Paul Coble, who Holding defeated in a May primary for the GOP nomination to a North Carolina congressional seat.
The pro-Holding super PAC, The American Foundations Committee, took in $578,000 almost entirely from members of the Holding clan, which made its money in banking.
“The fact is that there’s no family member that gave money to that super PAC that George owes anything to. They all did it because they thought that George is the right candidate,” said Frank Holding, a first cousin to the nominee who donated $120,000 to the pro-Holding super PAC, and said he would give more “if I thought he needed it.”
Holding disagreed with the suggestion that family-funded super PACs advantage candidates from wealthy broods, saying, “It’s conceivable that if somebody doesn’t come from a family that has means, they could still use a super PAC and just use it to collect money from other parties.”
The Now or Never PAC, a super PAC supporting Sarah Steelman’s campaign for the GOP Senate nomination in Missouri, had raised $452,000 through the end of last month, mostly from folks outside the family. But it reported receiving $50,000 last month from her mother-in-law, Maxine Steelman.
Readers' Comments (51)
Perceptions Party: Independent
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Read all 51 comments in our forumSuper PACs keep it in the family
.................not like Obama's MSM Super Wolf Pac Press family........NBC News/WSJ just cooked the hell out of a new poll...................liberal / progressive criminals
WOW... These polls are just an absolute joke. If these are the actual voting dynamics in November... Something extremely serious has happened and by serious I mean like war and/or economy has drastically turned around... 46% Democrat/16% Ind/35% Republican samplings... So with an 11% polling advantage with his party... Obama leads by 6.
Strong Democrat............................................... 24
Not very strong Democrat................................. 11
Independent/lean Democrat.............................. 11
Strictly Independent.......................................... 16
Independent/lean Republican............................ 12
Not very strong Republican............................... 7
Strong Republican............................................. 16
Other (VOL)..................................................... 2
Not sure......................................................... 1
Obama's MSM Super Wolf Pac press pals are trying to steal the election by Lying and Misleading the American people......46% of the American electorate isn't DEMOCRAT
Loved ones with Super PACs that communicate with the candidate is technically a "conflict of interest". Wonder how a Muslim Brotherhood Super PAC would qualify.
pac
Notice how Politico's articles are so different when the individuals are Democrats than when they are Republicans?
If this family were Republicans, Politico would be calling for their heads, calling them opportunists, how dare they have a SuperPAC, dirty money, independence violation, etc. But since it is a Democrat family, then it is a wonderful thing.
If the MSM treated both parties equilly in their reporting, there would be very few Democrats in America.
Super PAC's are awful. The Citizens United case MUST be overturned if we want democracy back to the people, not the few wealthy ones.
Unions and Super PAC's must be barred from contributing, or capped very low. The money in this cycle is disgusting.
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Why is it awful? I don't recall anyone in the Media saying it was aweful when President Obama was racking up $700,000,000 from hidden donors in 2008. Citizens United exists because of President Obama's disrespect of the process.
If any, let's blame the reason for Citizens United's lawsuit, which is sitting in the Oval Office.
The biggest superpacs of them all are the "mainstream (leftist) media" with their SLOBBERING support for Barack Obama, and the labor unions, who give ENORMOUS sums of money and manpower to Democrats every election.
The new Superpacs only help to level the playing field.
Yep..........here's is an "individual" that happens to be Obamie's biggest Super Pac contributor:
Bill Maher
Wouldnt it have been cheaper to rent her an apartment?
"If she had not kept it secret, it would not have been legal..."
Good grief. Out system is so corrupt and broken.
Whereas Mitt Romney's Super Pacs are trying to win by sweetness and light!
Lol.
'Pubs: It's different when we do it.
No. What I notice is your paranoia and penchant for seeing what you want to see rather than what is there.
Danbury: "What I notice"................Is irrelevant.
Must have hit a nerve with some truth since you immediately resorted toan inane personal attack.
How about instead you explain for me what BlueLight is seeing. Feel free to prove me wrong.
Danbury: " Feel free to prove me wrong."....................No need to.
Right. Why bother when you can just toss out some silly personal insult?
When you have no case, hurl insults.
Danbury: "When you have no case, hurl insults.".........Oh, really. How would you characterize your own remark, then?........Danbury: "What I notice is your paranoia and penchant for seeing what you want to see rather than what is there.".......Hmmmm.... Your stock in trade is insults, as nearly everyone here can verify. Has it ever occurred to you that labeling everyone else as stupid is about as infantile a practice as can be imagined? Probably not. Most of us say silly things from time to time, and we do occasionally accuse others of the same. You are serious, though, in that you repeat it continually. But you have at it. I don't believe you know any other way.
The biggest SuperPACS are the cabal of Left Wing Democrat operatives. These so-called "journalists" like Roger Simon and his ilk, his MSNBC buddies, ABC, NBC, CBS and their Rather Gate lies etc. which make up most of the MSM today. The media except for a few, are 100% in the tank for Obama and are little more than Democrat operatives. And they are proud of it.
Which of course is why the media has zero credibility and you can pretty much automatically ignore whatever the traditional MSM has to say these days.
So.., tell us, then Deceptions..., you tell us what percetage of the electorate are Democrat...
Boy.., is that Wall Street Journal going to the evil MSM Wolfpac.., who is now supposedly "cooking the polls".., sure must be a surprise to the Willard Wannabe Prez Organization... 49 to 43.., making the Willard a loser.., sure must sting coming from the Journal... Do you think Rupert has anything to do with it.., because even Fox Skews has the Willard losing, as well?... They have him losing 45 to 41... More "cooked" polls, Deceptions?.....
Obama is bringing us the best there is in corruptive politics.
Nothing is honest, the media fudges polls to get the best Obamaresults. Obama has let the country go down the tubes as he sells legislation to the highest bidder.
Obama is managing his campaign finances like he manages the countries finances - ABYSMALLY
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