Who is the 527 American Leadership Project

[Tinksrival]

running swiftboat ads in Indiana?

snip>>>>>>
Obama supporter, State Representative Ryan Dvorak from Indiana said, "What we got is a lot of Hoosiers excited by a candidate that would bridge the political divide and then we saw Ohio and Pennsylvania inserting a lot of negativity. The ALP is just one of Hillary Clinton's pal groups, run by one of Mark Penn's employees. What I get from my district is that my people want to see a positive outlook."

snip>>>>

Indiana's 84 delegates are up for grabs, with the candidates running neck and neck in the state, according to polls. Both Democratic contenders and The American Leadership Project (ALP), a pro-Clinton stealth non-profit operating outside the campaign finance laws, are planning on airing competing ads in the Hoosier state, but it's the ALP ad and the organization's $700,000 buy that has the Obama campaign scurrying to reporters in an effort to blunt the attack.

In a press phone call conference, Heather Higginbottom, the Obama Campaign National Policy Director said, "The substance of the ALP attack ad is baseless. Senator Obama has set out a plan with specific policies. He has a 48-page economy policy paper to strengthen the economy and it is posted on our website."

With the race up for grabs in the last delegate rich state left on the map and Obama's recent losses in Ohio and Pennsylvania, 527's with their rich coffers and scant oversight by federal watchdogs will figure larger in this primary race for the nomination than ever before.
snip>>>>

Clip at link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/beverly-davis/pro-clinton-group-swiftbo_b_99276.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/beverly-davis/pro-clinton-group-swiftbo_b_99276.html

Is this why Clinton still owes all that $$ to Penn? Is this legal??

[SunsetDreams]

1. They're so full of lies! Watch this video, sounds like Hillary is jealous

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=722561891&play=1

Robert Hormats, Goldman Sachs International and Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize Winner 2001/Columbia University professor and Edmund Phelps, 2006 Nobel Prize Winner in economics, praise his economic policy. Guess there must be some specifics, huh? In addition to how many times he has talked enonomics with specifics in his speeches, and the 48 page economy policy paper, that is posted on his website. http://www.barackobama.com/issues/economy Further, it was Bill Clinton that repealed Glass-Steagall Act which many economists feel contributed to the subprime mortgage crisis. It was also under Bill Clinton's presidency that NAFTA was signed and supported by Hillary Clinton, which cost so many jobs!

Clinton you and Mark Penn are pathetically desperate. You constantly lie to the American people! Reminds me of....hmmm...wonder who.

Mark Penn connected to this group. Mark Penn connected to the Columbian Trade deal she is supposedly against. Ummm yeah right, guess she thinks people are stupid.

This 527 pro-Clinton group, is run by one of Penn's employees, this is a violation of FEC and a lawsuit waiting to happen if they go forward with it.

[newmajority]

2. Anything with any combinations of the words "project" "leadership" or "new democrat"

should always be presumed to be a DLC front, and therefore, not operating in the best interests of the Democratic party or the American people.

[SunsetDreams]

3. DLC sucks!

[TahitiNut]

4. Orwellian-inspired name for big money Clinton backers to circumvent funding limits.

They've already attracted lawsuits for running outisde the fuzzy fringes of the laws.

Leave it to the fat cats licking Hillary's fur to flip the bird at the public and engage in such deceptive practices.

[Tinksrival]

5. anoher snip........

Bob Bauer, Obama Campaign Chief Counsel said, "We've seen ALP before...and they are completely breaking the law. They've modeled themselves after the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth. It has been organized by her supporters and supported by her campaign and the consequences are going to be severe. The standards of the FCC are being completely violated. Sometimes people in desperate situations do desperate things."

[KittyWampus]

6. Well, whether it's legal or not, Obama's campaign is supposed to DEAL WITH SWIFTBOATING

not bitch and whine about it.

It doesn't matter if it's illegal.

It.Is.Happening.

It's happening NOW!

And Obama's camp better get on the fucking ball.

[TragedyandHope]

7. Good old Mark Penn and his buddies

:kick:

[Adelante]

8. 527s are not supposed to advocate for or against a specific candidate (wink)

They're intended to be about promoting issues (wink). There is supposed to be no coordination whatsoever with any campaign (wink). That's what they do anyway. Candidates pack 527s with members of their own staff, um, "former" staff. (Edwards had a 527 set up for 2008 headed by his 2004 campaign manager, for another example, you may recall.) Of course, it's illegal. But they won't worry about it. Years down the road they will pay a fine just as several 527s from 2004 paid fines. Another thing 527s do is behave illegally as federal PACs in terms of contributions. 527s are not limited by law to $5,000 individual donations, as are federal PACs, but they will collect unlimited contributions (illegal for a federal PAC) and use that money to influence a federal election (illegal for a 527). Again, some day AFTER the election is over, they will be investigated and fined for it. The money for FEC fines is factored into the cost of doing business.

It's a shonda.

This is from December 2007:

The Commission found, for example, that several of the largest 527 groups in the 2004 election, including The Media Fund, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and Progress for America Voter Fund, all violated the law by running ads to influence the 2004 presidential election that were funded with unlimited donations from wealthy individuals, as well as corporate and union treasury funds. The groups were fined for their violations.

"Despite the FEC findings of widespread illegal conduct by 527 groups in the 2004 presidential election, it appears that 527 groups are blatantly and arrogantly at it again in the current presidential race," Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer stated.

"These 527 groups are spending large sums of unlimited contributions on what they claim are 'issue ads' but what instead are unquestionably 'campaign ads' being run to influence the 2008 presidential election." Wertheimer said.

"Given the past FEC determinations that illegal expenditures were made by numerous 527 groups in the 2004 presidential election, no one should be making the assumption that the 527 groups currently spending millions of dollars in Iowa and New Hampshire are doing so legally," Wertheimer stated. "In reality, these 527 groups may be making illegal expenditures in 2008, just as 527 groups did in 2004."

http://www.democracy21.org/index.asp?Type=B_PR&SEC={7248831A-87CA-4C2D-B873-60C64918C920}&DE={299C9FA8-66C4-4FB8-B95E-5AEF5AC578FC}

[Adelante]

9. Obama campaign has filed an FEC complaint

(CNN) – Barack Obama’s campaign has filed a formal complaint over a pro-Hillary Clinton group running ads attacking the Illinois senator on jobs and the economy in the critical primary state of Indiana.

The American Leadership Project, which includes veterans of the Clinton administration and longtime supporters, is a “527,” which means it is not bound by federal campaign finance laws as long as it does not directly advocate on behalf of a particular candidate.

The group announced earlier this week that it was planning to buy $700,000 worth of airtime in the state leading up to Tuesday’s vote. It has aired other spots in support of Clinton in key primary states like Pennsylvania, Ohio and Texas.

On an Obama campaign conference call, general counsel Bob Bauer called the group "a Swift Boat wanna-be" and its actions "flatly illegal." The campaign officially filed its complaint Wednesday with the Federal Elections Commission.

Several weeks ago, the Obama campaign used the group in its own fundraising appeals, sending supporters a plea for donations that pointed to actions by “Swift Boat-style groups and smear campaigns.”

“News broke yesterday that a few wealthy Clinton supporters are gearing up for a massive spending campaign to boost her chances in the big upcoming contests in Texas and Ohio on March 4th,” wrote David Plouffe in an e-mail message.

“The so-called ‘American Leadership Project’ will take unlimited contributions from individuals and is organized the same way as the infamous Swift Boat Veterans for Truth,” he added.

The move marks at least the third time this week that representatives of a presidential candidate or national party campaign committee have filed — or threatened to file — FEC complaints over attack ads.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/04/30/obama-campaign-files-fec-complaint-against-pro-clinton-group/

[Tinksrival]

10. Thanks WesDem

Unfortunatly we know how the FEC works.