Andy Kroll

Reporter

Andy Kroll is Mother Jones' Dark Money reporter. He is based in the DC bureau. His work has also appeared at the Wall Street Journal, the Detroit News, Salon, and TomDispatch.com, where he's an associate editor. He can be reached at akroll (at) motherjones (dot) com. He tweets at @AndrewKroll.

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CEOs, Hollywood, and Corporations, Oh My! Meet the Super PAC Bankrollers

—By Andy Kroll

| Thu Aug. 25, 2011 6:56 AM PDT

GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry has six super PACs raising and spending cash on his behalf.

Super PACs, the relatively new breed of political action committee that can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money, are shaping up to be the hottest political money story of the 2012 elections. Offspring of the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision, super PACs can't donate to or coordinate with political candidates. But anybody who's anybody in American politics, it seems, has an affiliated super PAC fighting on his or her behalf—Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann (two), Ron Paul, Rick Perry (six!), Ron Paul, Stephen Colbert, and more. There are also super PACs fighting for Democratic and Republicans in the House and Senate, and still others run by tea partiers and labor unions. All told, there are more than 100 super PACs in existence today.

Election Day 2012 may be 15 months away, but the number-crunchers at the Center for Responsive Politics have helpfully laid out everything you need to know about an already a cash-flush, crowded super PAC field. Conservative super PACs are so far leading the charge, having raised $17.6 million in the first half of this year; the bulk of that money—$12.2 million—went to Restore Our Future PAC, a pro-Romney outfit. Liberal super PACs raked in $7.6 million, with Priorities USA Action, a pro-Obama group started by two former Obama White House aides, raising $3.2 million.

Other super PAC heavyweights include American Crossroads, the Karl Rove-inspired group that spent $21.5 million in the 2010 midterm elections, according to CRP. American Bridge 21st Century, a cutting-edge hub of opposition research conceived by Media Matters for America founder David Brock, ranked fourth in fundraising among all super PACs. The super PAC affiliated with the Communications Workers of America ranked ninth.

But there's one big takeaway from from the Center's analysis: the vast majority of the cash flowing into super PACs' coffers comes from a elite group donors including CEOs, Hollywood big wigs, corporations, and unions. The fears that the Citizens United decision would allow wealthy individuals and companies to exert more influence in American elections are quickly coming to fruition:

Liberal Super PACs

* Of the $7.6 million raised, more than eight of every ten dollars—or $6.24 million of it—came from just 23 donors.

* Of those 23 blue-chip donors, 45 percent came from the entertainment industry, including DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks

* Twenty-six percent of blue-chip donors were CEOs not in the entertainment industry

* Twenty-five percent of blue-chip donors were labor unions

Conservative Super PACs

* Of the $17.6 million pocketed, more than eight of every ten dollars came from just 35 donors

* Sixty-six percent of those blue-chip donors are CEOs

* Eighteen percent came from corporate treasuries, a company's main money pot

* Sixteen percent came from people who work at Bain Capital, which Romney founded three decades ago

Here are the fundraising totals for top 18 super PACs in the first half of 2011:

PAC	Cash Raised	Slant
Restore Our Future PAC	$12,231,700	C
American Crossroads	$3,929,381	C
Priorities USA Action	$3,161,535	L
American Bridge 21st Century	$1,562,775	L
Cooperative of American Physicians	$1,235,447	N/A
Majority PAC	$1,082,407	L
House Majority PAC	$985,000	L
Club for Growth Action	$440,693	C
Communication Workers of America	$295,000	L
Raising Red	$200,000	C
Americans for Rick Perry	$193,000	C
Women Vote!	$165,833	C
America's Families First Action Fund	$160,374	L
Faith Family Freedom Fund	$124,870	C
America's President Committee	$124,343	C
Christine PAC	$119,914	C
America Votes Action Fund	$73,061	L
Texas Tea Party Patriots PAC	$56,755	C

Conservative Super PACs	$17,612,012
Liberal Super PACs	$7,612,459

Source: Center for Responsive Politics

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Congressional Staffers Dispute No Labels Town Hall Report

—By Andy Kroll

| Wed Aug. 24, 2011 9:15 AM PDT

Congressional staffers are pushing back against a report by the group No Labels that claims nearly 60 percent of members of Congress did not schedule free, public town halls during the August recess.

Here's what Ellis Brachman, a spokesman for the House Democratic Caucus, wrote in an email on Wednesday:

I’m sure No Labels had the best intentions in trying to put this report together—but it's so riddled with errors, many of which even a simple internet check would have caught, that the result is at best incredibly misleading. I can't speak for House Republicans, many of whom it's been widely reported are hiding behind pay walls to keep a friendly crowd, but House Democrats are out in their districts listening to their constituents at Town Halls and all sorts of other events. Anyone claiming differently is very misinformed.

A No Labels spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. You can the group's original report here.

Big Labor Eyes the Super PAC Playing Field

—By Andy Kroll

| Wed Aug. 24, 2011 8:30 AM PDT

AFL-CIO chief Richard Trumka with President Obama.

The AFL-CIO, the largest labor federation in America, is considering launching its own "super PAC." The move would allow the labor group to rake in unlimited amounts of campaign cash from inside and outside its affiliated unions to spend in state and federal elections. If the new political action committee gets the final stamp of approval, the Associated Press reports, it would join more than 100 super PACs already raising and spending money to influence the 2012 elections.

The explosion of super PACs onto the political scene came after the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, which opened the door to unlimited political spending by corporations and labor unions. Here's more from the AP on the AFL-CIO's plan to potentially capitalize on that decision:

The move would also help steer more of labor's money to state legislative battles, where unions have been battling efforts to curb union rights in states like Wisconsin and Ohio.

"The essential idea is that changes in the law for the first time really allow the labor movement to speak directly to workers, whether they have collective bargaining agreements or not," AFL-CIO political director Michael Podhorzer said in an interview. "Before, most political resources went to our own membership."

Labor leaders discussed the plan at the AFL-CIO executive council meetings earlier this month, but officials said the idea remains subject to final approval over the next few weeks.

Congress Has an Answer for Public Wrath: Eliminate Town Halls

—By Andy Kroll

| Tue Aug. 23, 2011 3:20 AM PDT

A constituent questions Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.) at a town hall meeting in August.

Congress' approval rating—currently 13 percent, according to Gallup—is at a historic low, and its disapproval rating, at 84 percent, is at a historic high. Many Americans eagerly awaited Congress' August recess so they could use town hall meetings and other public appearances to give their elected officials a piece of their mind. There's just one problem: most of Congress isn't scheduling any town halls. None. Zilch.

The think tank No Labels called the offices of all 430 active members of Congress and found that 60 percent of them weren't scheduling town hall meetings. According to No Labels' analysis, more Democrats than Republicans are shutting themselves off from their constituents: 68 percent of Dems and 51 percent of Republicans hadn't planned a town hall during Congress' weeks-long summer break. (Click here to see if your representative or senator is planning a town hall or not.)

Not to be ignored, angry citizens, at least in one high profile district, have taken action to get some attention. Last week, a handful of unemployed constituents organized a sit-in in GOP Rep. Paul Ryan's office in Kenosha, Wisconsin, while 100 protesters picketed outside. Ryan in particular has drawn heaps of criticism for his plan to eliminate Medicare as we know it and refashion Medicaid into a state-based block grant program. In the end, Ryan's staff had police remove the protesters from the office, which was done peacefully.

Paul Ryan has made himself available during the recess—but for a price. That's right: Ryan and other lawmakers are now charging constituents to attend public events and ask them questions. Ryan wanted $15 a head. Rep. Dan Quayle (R-Ariz.), Politico reported, is charging $35 from attendees who want to ask him questions over a catered lunch at a Phoenix law firm. Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-Minn.) also wants money—$10 a person—to attend an his event, which is hosted by the National Federation of Independent Businesses.

Why the ticket price? At the very least, it's a way to weed out the unemployed and financially burdened, who are also the most likely to give lawmakers an earful for the dismal state of the labor market and sluggish economic recovery. As Scott Page, a twice laid-off worker who participated in the sit-in inside Paul Ryan's office, told a local blogger, "I don't have $15 to ask Rep. Ryan questions, so I guess this is the only means I have to talk to him."

August '11 Town Halls

Ohio Gov. John Kasich: Hey Unions, Let's Make a Deal on My Bargaining Ban

—By Andy Kroll

| Wed Aug. 17, 2011 1:39 PM PDT

With the dust barely settled on Wisconsin's slate of summer recall elections, a backlash to Gov. Scott Walker's attack on union bargaining rights, Ohio Gov. John Kasich wants his state's unions to cut a deal on his anti-union bill, known as SB 5.

Kasich asked union leaders on Wednesday to compromise with him on changes to SB 5 and back off a referendum on the bill scheduled for this fall. As the Columbus Dispatch reports, Kasich, one of the most unpopular governors in America, told labor unions to "set aside political agendas and past offenses" and cut a deal, a move he said would be in the "best interest of everyone, including public employee unions."

Unions rejected Kasich's olive branch. A spokeswoman for We Are Ohio, a group of labor unions spearheading the SB 5 referendum, said Republicans "can repeal the entire bill or join us in voting no on Nov. 8," adding, "We’re glad that Governor Kasich and the other politicians who passed SB 5 are finally admitting this is a flawed bill."

Here's more from the Dispatch:

The governor said the offer stems from him being a "believer in talking," and not out of "a fear we are going to lose." Kasich asked for a delegation of 10 public employee union leaders to talk Friday with state officials.

Fellow Republicans William G. Batchelder, Ohio House speaker from Medina, and Senate President Tom Niehaus of New Richmond, joined the governor at this afternoon’s press conference.

Niehaus echoed the comments of Kasich, saying the average person at home is asking him why they can't work this out.

Niehaus said Democrats expressed no willingness to meet in middle during the legislative process.

"We did reach out. Made concerted effort," he said. "Delete, delete, delete" is what the Democrats wanted to do.