By Paul Blumenthal
Some other notes on fundraising in April:
Sen. Jim DeMint's campaign put another $200,000 into the conservative Club for Growth Action super PAC. That brings his total to $700,000 to the group that spent big to depose Sen. Dick Lugar in the Indiana Senate primary race.
Labor unions continue to give big to Democratic super PACs. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association gave $1 million to the pro-Obama Priorities USA Action. The American Federation of Teachers gave $300,000 to Majority PAC and $100,000 to America Works USA. Services Employees International Union put $500,000 into We Are Wisconsin, a group spending big to defeat Scott Walker in the upcoming recall election.
HuffPost will be looking into the donors to the super PACs and the presidential campaigns and posting over the weekend and into next week.
One donor stood out like a sore thumb yesterday. TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts came out of nowhere to become the billionaire super PAC donor of the day with a proposed plan--since discarded--to spend $10 million on ads hitting President Obama for his past connection to his controversial pastor Jeremiah Wright. But who is Joe Ricketts anyways? HuffPost reports, "He has already contributed more than a half-million dollars to super PACs in the 2012 cycle. The Campaign for Primary Accountability, which backs primary challengers to congressional incumbents, reported a $500,000 contribution, and Ricketts' own super PAC, the Ending Spending Fund, spent $250,000 to support Senate candidate Deb Fischer in her victory in Tuesday's Nebraska GOP primary. Like many a staunch fiscal conservative, Ricketts is a self-made man. Born in Nebraska City, Neb., in 1941, he put himself through college, taking nine years to graduate from Creighton University while working to pay the bills. In the 1970s, he co-founded the firm that would eventually become Ameritrade (later to merge with TD Waterhouse). The company was a pioneer in providing individual investors with the tools to trade, first through touch-tone phone services and later through the Internet with its well-known $8-a-trade offer. ... A staunch opponent of both partisanship and wasteful spending is how Ricketts portrays himself and his political activism. But theory doesn't always conform to reality. Ricketts' monomania about spending drives very one-sided giving."
iWatch News reports that campaign finance watchdogs are concerned about Ricketts' spending to help Deb Fischer win the Republican nomination for Senate in Nebraska.
The Supreme Court decision that unleashed the Joe Ricketts' and Sheldon Adelson's of the world onto our elections is coming up for some serious criticism in a just filed amicus brief by Sens. John McCain and Sheldon Whitehouse. HuffPost's Mike Sacks reports, "In an all-out broadside against the current state of campaign finance, Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) submitted a brief on Friday morning urging the U.S. Supreme Court to let stand Montana's century-old ban on corporate money in political campaigns despite the court's Citizens United ruling two years ago declaring unconstitutional a similar federal law sponsored by McCain. ...Siding with Montana and agreeing with Ginsburg and Breyer, the senators ask the Supreme Court "to confirm that Congress and state legislators may, upon an appropriate record demonstrating the potential for corruption or perceived corruption created by independent expenditures, enact legislation in response to that real and significant threat." McCain, a notable supporter of Mitt Romney in the Republican primary race, has not been shy during this campaign season about emphasizing the differences between himself and the presumptive GOP nominee on Citizens United and super PACs."
The folks over at the Center for Responsive Politics have been following the money trail of some of the undisclosed spending by non-profits and found one health care group supplying a lot of funds to other conservative non-profits: "A secretive, well-funded group whose name gives the misleading impression that it is solely concerned about health care gave more than $44 million in 2010 to other tax-exempt groups, many of which spent millions on TV ads attacking Democrats running for the House and Senate and have begun spending for the same purpose this year."
Mitt Romney sent out a document to his biggest donors to outline the perks they win for raising funds for the campaign. Politico reports, "Romney Stripes and Romney Stars pledge to raise $500,000 and $250,000, respectively. The "stripes" bundlers get special access at debates, the convention and election night, as well as dedicated briefings and their name published in the stars and stripes commemorative book. The "stars" bundlers get stars level convention, election night, and entry to all local finance general receptions, as well as other benefits."
Romney and his wife have each donated $75,000 to a joint fundraising committee that funnels money to the Republican National Committee, the Romney campaign, and state Republican parties.
Barack Obama isn't done raffling off seats to Hollywood fundraisers. This time you can win a seat at a New York fundraiser hosted by Sex & The City star Sarah Jessica Parker.
Is contributing money to Scott Walker's reelection campaign a fraudulent expense? It's complicated. ProPublica reports.
Democrats are having a chuckle over a Chamber of Commerce ad touting the business experience of Hawaii Senate candidate Linda Lingle.
AD WATCH
Help us populate our list of campaign videos. Send any notable TV, radio or web ads that you see to Fundrace. Send your submissions to paulblumenthal@huffingtonpost.com.
Committee: Mitt Romney for President
Spot (English Language): "Day One"
Spot (Spanish Language): "Dia Uno"
Market: Unknown.
Buy: Undisclosed.
Committee: American Bridge 21st Century
Candidate Opposed: Mitt Romney
Spot: "Romney's Day One Ad Updated"
Market: YouTube.
Buy: None. Just a web video.
Committee: Barack Obama for President
Spot (Spanish Language): "Daniela Urbina"
Market: Unknown.
Buy: Undisclosed.
Committee: Barack Obama for President
Spot (Spanish Language): "Ernesto Apreza"
Market: Unknown.
Buy: Undisclosed.
Committee: Barack Obama for President
Spot (Spanish Language): "Lynette Acosta"
Market: Unknown.
Buy: Undisclosed.
Committee: Barack Obama for President
Spot: "Higher Education"
Market: Unknown.
Buy: Undisclosed.
Committee: Democratic National Committee
Candidate Opposed: Mitt Romney
Spot: "The Bane of Romney's Existence"
Market: YouTube.
Buy: None. Just a web video.
Committee: Republican National Committee
Candidate Opposed: Barack Obama
Spot: "Nice Try Joe: You're Not Foolin' Coal Country"
Market: YouTube.
Buy: None. Just a web video.
Committee: American Crossroads
Candidate Opposed: Barack Obama
Spot: "Great II"
Market: YouTube.
Buy: None. Just a web video.
Committee: American Future Fund
Candidate Opposed: Bob Kerrey
Spot: "New York Bob Kerrey (:30)"
Spot 2: "New York Bob Kerrey (:15)"
Market: Nebraska.
Buy: Undisclosed.
Committee: Majority PAC
Candidate Supported: Claire McCaskill
Spot: "Them"
Market: Missouri.
Buy: ~$247,760.
Committee: U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Candidate Supported: Linda Lingle
Spot: "Linda Lingle believes small businesses can create jobs for our future"
Market: Hawaii.
Buy: Undisclosed.
Committee: Patriot USA
Candidate Opposed: Denny Rehberg
Spot: "Charter"
Market: Montana.
Buy: ~$211,138.
Committee: Tom Barrett for Governor
Candidate Opposed: Scott Walker
Spot: "Guitar Hero"
Market: Wisconsin.
Buy: Undisclosed.
TRACKING INDEPENDENT SPENDING IN THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE:
These numbers represent spending by independent groups, like super PACs and non-profits, to support or oppose a particular candidate for the presidency in 2012. Fundrace will update this spending daily to help show which candidates are gaining from the proliferation of independent groups in this coming election.
Newt Gingrich (R), $13,017,772 to support, $18,885,161 to oppose.
Rick Santorum (R), $7,548,235 to support, $20,923,379 to oppose.
Mitt Romney (R), $7,327,516 to support, $12,348,985 to oppose. (+$3,605,222)
Rick Perry (R), $4,167,697 to support, $1,404 to oppose.
Ron Paul (R), $3,748,218 to support, $214,158 to oppose.
Jon Huntsman (R), $2,453,204 to support, $0 to oppose.
Barack Obama (D), $455,569 to support, $1,279,069 to oppose.
Herman Cain (R), $501,717 to support, $954 to oppose.
Gary Johnson (R), $518 to support, $0 to oppose.
RECENT INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES
Majority PAC, $247,760 to support Claire McCaskill for Senate in Missouri.
Texas Conservatives Fund, $240,600 to oppose Ted Cruz for Senate in Texas.
House Majority PAC, $54,031 to support Julia Brownley for Congress in California's 26th District.
House Majority PAC, $108,282 to oppose Jesse Kelly for Congress in Arizona's 8th District.
House Majority PAC, $21,931 to oppose Linda Parks for Congress in California's 26th District.
Patriot Majority USA, $211,138 to oppose Denny Rehberg for Senate in Montana.
National Republican Congressional Campaign, $284,051 to oppose Ron Barber for Congress in Arizona's 8th District.
League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, $10,790 to support Elizabeth Warren for Senate in Massachusetts.
League of Conservation Voters, $100,000 to support Julia Brownley for Congress in California's 26th District.
California League of Conservation Voters, $91,607 to support Julia Brownley for Congress in California's 26th District.
Conservatives Acting Together PAC, $19,275 to support Michael Williams for Congress in Texas' 25th District.
League of Conservation Voters, $28,000 to support Paul Gallego for Congress in Texas' 23rd District.
League of Conservation Voters, $95,307 to oppose Ciro Rodriguez for Congress in Texas' 23rd District.
Committee to Elect An Effective Valley Congressman, $10,138 to support Howard Berman for Congress in California's 30th District.
Priorities USA Action, $3,605,222 to oppose Mitt Romney for President.
RECENT POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE REGISTRATIONS
Veterans for a Strong America Action Group, Sioux Falls, S.D., Treasurer: Joel A. Arends. (Super PAC
Send tips, hints, submissions, rumors to HuffPost Fundrace at paulblumenthal@huffingtonpost.com.
