By John Solomon
How the government's punishing of the exposure of official wrongdoing can linger for years
Though years in the brewing, the internal fight over the direction of the Republican Party has exploded onto front pages and political talk shows this month after strategist Karl Rove announced the formation of a new political action committee designed to promote more electable candidates.
War? What war? It's just business as usual at the Conservative Victory Fund, an emerging super PAC that has vexed fierce conservatives and tea partyers convinced that the organization is undermining Republican chances of a win in the 2014 midterm elections by abandoning conservative principles and backing moderate candidates.
Tea party leaders say they refuse to be the scapegoats for the drubbing Republicans took on Election Day, claiming it was the party establishment — not their insurgent movement — that cost the party seats in the House and Senate and returned President Obama to the White House.
President Obama's advertising advantage is so pronounced that he is running more ads than not only Mitt Romney's campaign, but all of the outside groups supporting the Republican nominee combined.
With November elections just around the corner, two Republican-friendly groups independently announced Tuesday that they collectively were spending $17 million to influence races in several battleground states nationwide.
One Republican campaign ad describes the "buyer's remorse" some voters feel about President Barack Obama. Another ad features a woman saying she had supported Obama because "he spoke so beautifully," but he's failed to deliver on his promises. Still another ad woos Obama supporters with a direct but gentle prod: "It's OK to make a change."
Nearly 200 companies gave $8.6 million to super PACs in June, far more than in any month this year, new records showed.
A top adviser to Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Tim Kaine said last week that Karl Rove, the powerful Republican admonger and former adviser to President George W. Bush, was right.
Mitt Romney outraised President Obama in 19 states in May, including four of nine critical swing states, records released Wednesday night show. But as the former Massachusetts governor solidified his position in the party and teamed up with the Republican National Committee, which can legally accept much larger checks than a candidate, his reliance on a few wealthy donors at the expense of a large base also grew.
The costly Republican primary has been draining Mitt Romney's wallet and giving President Obama time to build an expansive campaign architecture with offices in 45 states and hundreds of employees. The bad news for Obama is he's had to start paying for all this now.
Outside groups on both sides are spending millions of dollars on the race between Elizabeth Warren, the leading Democratic Senate candidate in Massachusetts, and freshman Sen. Scott P. Brown, the Republican she hopes to defeat next year.
Virginia is again showing its stripes as a swing state, with Democrats and Republicans pouring money into the commonwealth 15 months ahead of the national elections.
A Republican-leaning independent fundraising group announced Friday it would launch a $20 million television campaign criticizing President Obama's handling of the economy.
Top Republican leaders on Sunday again defended the use of money from outside groups to support their party's political campaigns, saying Democrats exercised the same legal rights in the 2008 presidential elections, but added that the system needs more transparency.
Watching an "Oprah" show about holiday craft tips? The commercial break includes a piece starring a sickly man in a hospital bed with dire warnings about the health care overhaul supported by Sen. Michael Bennet.
