May 20, 2012

Super PACs Let Strategists Off the Leash

By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE
The intensifying flood of uncapped donations to outside political groups is transforming not just campaigns but the entire business of politics. Once seasonal affairs, campaigns from the presidential race down to House contests are becoming longer and more intense, driven by deep-pocketed donors eager to see incumbents pummeled throughout the political cycle. Decisions about attack ads and negative campaigning that once weighed on candidates are now made by consultants and donors with little or no accountability to the public. And for a growing number of strategists and operatives in both parties, the very nature of what it means to work in politics has shifted. Once wedded to the careers and aims of individual candidates, they are now driven by the agendas of the big donors who finance outside spending. Amid the first presidential campaign since the Supreme Court opened the door for super PACs and unlimited campaign spending, it is still unclear how voters will respond. But the political professionals who make a living from the billions of dollars spent each cycle on campaigns are quickly embracing the shift. I think at the end of the day it has to do with money, said Matt Mackowiak, a Republican consultant who works with Let Freedom Ring, a group set to spend $20 million on political advertising this year. If youre a top consultant today, youd much rather have a presidential super PAC than a presidential campaign. In the insular but fast-growing world of super PACs and other independent outfits, there are no cranky candidates, no scheduling conflicts, no bitter strategy debates with rival advisers. There are only wealthy donors and the consultants vying to oblige them. The transformation drew new attention last week with the revelation that Fred Davis, a prominent Republican advertising strategist, had sought financing from a conservative billionaire for a $10 million campaign linking President Obama with the fiery, race-infused sermons of the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., Mr. Obamas former pastor. The proposal was condemned by, among others, Mitt Romneys presidential campaign, which has been trying to keep the focus on the economy. 1

Mr. Daviss plan quickly collapsed, but not before highlighting how a single donor matched with an aggressive consultant could have an almost instant impact on an election and with far greater ease than from inside a rival campaign, with its bureaucracy, constant travel and potentially cautious candidate. You dont have to go anywhere, Mr. Davis said in an interview this month, before details of his proposed campaign against Mr. Obama became public. You dont have to get on a small prop plane to New Hampshire. You dont have to stay at the Holiday Inn Express. You can stay home and manage everything during normal office hours. Unlike political parties and candidates, super PACs and other outside groups can accept unlimited contributions, thanks in part to the Supreme Courts 2010 Citizens United ruling. They have no field offices and few paid staff members and spend virtually all of their money on political advertising, traditionally the best-paying political work. For brand-name political operatives, super PACs offer much of the impact of campaign work with few of the headaches. You dont have kitchen cabinets made up of well-intentioned friends and neighbors who dont know what theyre doing but eat up a lot of your time, said Bob Schuman, who ran a super PAC called Americans for Rick Perry during the Republican presidential primaries. Super PACs dont have spouses. While many Republican and Democratic candidates are forcing consultants to accept flat fees and smaller advertising commissions, independent spending also offers a rapidly expanding market. Through mid-May, outside groups had spent more than $124 million in this election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, double the rate four years earlier. There are signs that the influence of outside groups will continue to grow this year and extend into Congressional races and other political battles, often through pop-up organizations created by consultants hoping to match donor and candidate. More than 500 super PACs are registered with the Federal Election Commission, though with the fall campaign months away, most have yet to start spending on the election. In April, spending by outside groups in Congressional races surged, in part because of millions of dollars dumped into the Republican primary battle between Senator Richard G. Lugar of Indiana and the states treasurer, Richard E. Mourdock, who prevailed on May 8. Outside groups are also spending heavily in Senate primaries in Texas and Utah. But the biggest super PAC spending this year has been in the Republican presidential primary, for which outside groups drew much of the fields top political talent. Instead of working on Mr. Romneys campaign, several top aides and fund-raisers from his 2008 presidential bid formed Restore Our Future, a super PAC that seeks to spend more

than $100 million this cycle. Two of the aides, the political strategist Carl Forti and the advertising consultant Larry McCarthy, are also involved with American Crossroads, a Republican super PAC that expects to spend up to $300 million this year. Mr. Davis decamped from Jon S. Huntsman Jr.s campaign in July to start Our Destiny PAC, financed largely by contributions from Mr. Huntsmans family. Most of the money spent on advertising by campaigns and outside groups eventually goes to the television stations airing the ads; the consultants who produce and place the ads earn a commission on that amount. Some of the major super PACs, including Crossroads, say their consultants, expecting the groups to do enormous volume, have agreed to accept a lower percentage for commissions than is typical. Through the middle of May, Restore Our Future had spent more than $44.5 million on advertising, direct mail and other advertising, roughly double what Mr. Romneys campaign had spent during the same period. Similarly, while Mr. Huntsmans campaign spent just a few thousand dollars on ads, Our Destiny spent $2.8 million. Its not just easier to raise super PAC money its dramatically easier, Mr. Davis said. We raised more money than the Huntsman campaign, but we only had 20 or 30 donors. With the primaries winding down, many consultants are turning to boutique super PACs, smaller outfits set up on behalf of a few donors sometimes only one to influence a few House and Senate races and other lower-profile campaigns. And some of the presidential super PACs are refashioning themselves as platforms for their vanquished candidates or as vehicles for general election spending. Mr. Schuman converted Americans for Rick Perry into the Restoring Prosperity Fund, with some of the same donors. The group will focus on Latino turnout and on efforts to help Mr. Romney in what Mr. Schuman called second-tier battleground states like Nevada and Colorado. Super PACs offer advantages to the donors as well. Because they can give unlimited amounts to outside groups, they can have substantial influence without the hard work of raising money for a candidate, $2,500 check by $2,500 check, from other donors. And super PACs allow them to spend on specific races or strategies, a development that could leave some candidates less dependent on party committees to decide whether they get the support they feel they need. You cant roll into the National Republican Senatorial Committee and say: Here is my check. I want it to go to these races, said one consultant who works with outside groups. And you can with the super PAC. Jo Craven McGinty and Derek Willis contributed reporting.