Republicans plan big push for big cash
Former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman (left) is chairing a newly-announced political action committee backed by big-name Republicans focused on getting GOP candidates elected to the House next year.
The Super PAC, first reported by Politico's Mike Allen, is called the Congressional Leadership Fund. On its website, it describes itself as "an independent expenditure PAC that will support candidates who promote the values of the center right majority in the Congress. The Fund will counter efforts on the left including the House Majority PAC, unions and the ACORN style groups. This is an independent expenditure fund focused solely and exclusively on maintaining and expanding the Center Right Congressional majority."
On the board will be big name Republican insiders like Tim Reynolds, Vin Weber and Fred Malek, who will personally reach out to donors, Allen reports.
That's just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the group's Washington connections. In a release sent to CBS News, the Congressional Leadership Fund says that its November 2 kickoff event will feature House Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions and the rest of the House leadership team.
Brian Walsh, the group's president, said it is designed "to compete against those on the liberal left who are organizing to undermine the historic gains Republicans made in 2010," calling it "the tip of the spear to re-elect Republican incumbents and build on the Republican majority won in 2010."
As CBS News explained in June, Super PACs rose in the wake of the Supreme Court's "Citizens United" decision giving corporations, unions and people the right to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections by donating to outside groups working to get a candidate elected. While donors are legally limited in terms of how much they can give to a candidate, they can pour money into the Super PACs, which in turn influence the race through advertisements and other means.
Because the Congressional Leadership Fund boasts a roster of Washington insiders, including the House Republican leadership, it will hold significant appeal to wealthy donors and corporations seeking influence in Washington.
The Congressional Leadership Fund is just one of the Super PAC's seeking to influence the 2012 elections. Others include the Karl Rove-aligned Crossroads groups, which do not disclose some of their donors, and the Democrat-linked House Majority PAC, which has received donations from unions and billionaire George Soros.
Asked if The Congressional Leadership Fund will disclose its donors, a representative for the group replied that it "will conform to all laws applicable" to independent expenditure PACs.