Controversy surrounds nonprofits' 'issue ads'
By JANE NORMAN
REGISTER WASHINGTON BUREAU
One ad airing on Iowa television stations warns of "government run by corporate lobbyists," and promotes "the Edwards plan" as a solution, accompanied by photos of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards.
Another begins with the sound of laughter, mocks Republican candidate Mitt Romney's position on abortion and, under a photo of rival Mike Huckabee, asks, "Shouldn't we trust a man who's always been consistent?"
They look just like the campaign ads from the candidates, but they're not. As the hours tick down to Thursday's caucuses, outside groups - in some cases run by people with close ties to the actual campaigns - are making their 2008 election debut in Iowa.
It's the latest installment of a long-running fight on the federal level over how and when special interest groups can run ads, distribute mail and set up phone banks to sway voters. They're not supposed to have any coordination with the candidates and there are legal limits on their activities.
But Steve Weissman, associate director of the non-partisan Campaign Finance Institute in Washington, D.C., said fines or penalties for any improprieties likely are years away.
"They don't care if they're fined," Weissman said. "By the time that happens, they've disappeared. It's just a cost of doing business."
Fred Wertheimer, head of the campaign finance reform group Democracy 21, said in a statement that the Federal Election Commission in 2004 found widespread illegal conduct by so-called 527 groups in the 2004 election, yet "it appears that 527 groups are blatantly and arrogantly at it again in the current presidential race." The 527 moniker comes from the groups' designation under Internal Revenue Service regulations.
The 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.
The ads getting the most attention in Iowa in recent days are run by a union-financed group called the Alliance for a New America, based in Alexandria, Va., and feature the complimentary images of Edwards. The group is headed by Nick Baldick, a former Edwards adviser, and contributions have come from locals of the Service Employees International Union.
A $495,000 contribution also came from Oak Springs Farm LLC, which the Associated Press reported is the entity that holds the fortune of 97-year-old philanthropist Rachel Mellon. Mellon has also contributed directly to Edwards' presidential campaign, as has the lawyer who holds power over Oak Springs Farm.
The New York Times reported about an e-mail that seemed to suggest conversations between Edwards campaign officials and the group's leaders, with Alliance leaders apparently asking the campaign "what specific kinds of support they would like to see from us."
Edwards aides said nothing improper occurred.
Critics, predominantly Barack Obama's campaign, have accused Edwards of using supposedly independent groups to support him even while he bashes the power of special interests, and to get around spending limits he accepted in exchange for public campaign money.
David Plouffe, campaign manager for Obama, sent reporters an e-mail on Saturday saying that an estimated $4.6 million in ads and other activities by independent groups in Iowa are benefiting both Edwards and Hillary Clinton.
Edwards has repeatedly denied having any influence over the groups, and speaking to reporters in Iowa, he said he wished they would halt the ads.
"I have absolutely no control over that," Edwards said. "I have said over and over again I think 527s should be outlawed. I will fight to outlaw them as president of the United States, for the same reason that I don't take money from lobbyists or special interests."
On the Republican side, an Ohio group called Common Sense Issues Inc. announced Saturday that it is paying for the anti-Romney, pro-Huckabee ads, part of a continuing push by an affiliated group called Trust Huckabee. Common Sense Issues was active in six Senate races in 2006.
Common Sense Issues Inc. is not a 527 but instead is organized under a separate 501(c)(4) section of the IRS code for nonprofits that devote some but not all of their time to political activity. They gain even less regulatory attention, Weissman said.
Huckabee has repeatedly denied any connection or coordination with Common Sense Issues Inc. or Trust Huckabee, and disavowed their efforts, which have also included push polls in Iowa and elsewhere.
But the Washington Post reported Saturday that Common Sense Issues is run by a longtime Huckabee supporter, Nathan Estruth, and a staff member for the group worked with Huckabee's campaign manager at the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Federal Election Commission records show Estruth contributed $2,300 to the Huckabee campaign in January.
Weissman said that the lack of ability to rein in outside groups is the fault of both the Federal Election Commission and Congress, which has failed to approve legislation restricting 527s. It's up to Iowa voters to remain wary of ads pitched by groups whose finances or agendas are unclear, Weissman said. "It's like a drive-through operation," he said.
Register staff writer Tony Leys contributed to this article.
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