By Kevin Binversie
With both sides entering fever pitch in the final days of Wisconsin Recall Summer, it’s good to see the fur fly not just between candidates, but also between outside groups trying to influence voters.
Take for instance the recent kerfuffle between two of the biggest 501(c)4s in the state The conservative Wisconsin Club for Growth, and the liberal One Wisconsin Now, or simply OWN, got into it over how much the Club for Growth was pumping into ads for recalled Republican state Senators.
Analogies about glass houses and stones of course apply, since One Wisconsin Now is often a source for liberal opposition research against conservative candidates and elected officials with near daily news releases becoming fodder for stories in the mainstream media. The Wisconsin Club for Growth is mostly seen as a clearinghouse for conservatives to help fund issue ads.
For those who don’t speak politico, 501(c)4s, or “C4s” for short, get their name from the section of the tax code under which they exist. They are tax-exempt organizations allowed to take unlimited contributions to help lobby, organize and effect change in public policy. They are not required to disclose where their money comes from, and are forbidden from promoting or attacking specific candidates or candidate positions. However they can go up on television to try to sway voters through third-party issue ads.
C4s became very popular following the 2004 presidential campaign after efforts to shut down 527 groups, (similar styled organizations like political parties, unions, and third-party groups that can take unlimited contributions but must disclose donations) failed. They’ve since become commonplace for both sides, and some 527s just morphed into C4s.
One Wisconsin Now is an offshoot of Progress Now, based out of Colorado; while the Wisconsin Club for Growth is an offshoot of the national Club for Growth. Both appeared on the scene around 2006 or 2007. In One Wisconsin Now’s case, it was bankrolled by millions in undisclosed seed money from wealthy liberals across the nation with rumored assistance from big-money Wisconsin donors like Schlitz brewing heiress Lynde Uihlein and Judy Faulkner of Verona-based EPIC Systems. But perhaps the greatest irony to its founding was having John Krause as its initial executive director. Krause, a longtime campaign aide to former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold – a man noted for his commitment to full disclosure on all forms of campaign spending – was now leading a group that was never legally required to tell who financed it.
The Wisconsin Club for Growth has always been figure-headed by R.J. Johnson, a long-time Republican consultant who specializes in political advertising. Some will now claim Johnson’s ties to Gov. Scott Walker as his motivation, but in actuality he’s been doing it for years for a number of conservative causes and candidates.
While seen as annoying to most, and underhanded to some, the reality is 501(c)4s are here to stay and appear to be serving a role in our political atmosphere few others can. Many of these groups specialize in organizing voters, informing the public about past votes and statements, or just being a place to converse with the like-minded no matter what side of the political aisle you’re on. They usually have thousands of members and make for a ready-made group of campaign volunteers.
So if you see any of these groups arguing it out on the street, let them go at it. It has its own spectator value and most importantly, it’s what democracy is supposed to look like, or so we’ve been told.
Kevin Binversie is a Wisconsin native who has been blogging on the state’s political culture for more than eight years. He has served in the George W. Bush administration from 2007-2009, worked at the Heritage Foundation and has worked on numerous Wisconsin Republican campaigns in various capacities, most recently as research director for Ron Johnson for Senate. Contact him at kevin.binversie@franklincenterhq.org.
COMMENTARY: When 501(c)4s attack, it can get explosive
July 28th, 2011By Kevin Binversie
With both sides entering fever pitch in the final days of Wisconsin Recall Summer, it’s good to see the fur fly not just between candidates, but also between outside groups trying to influence voters.
Take for instance the recent kerfuffle between two of the biggest 501(c)4s in the state The conservative Wisconsin Club for Growth, and the liberal One Wisconsin Now, or simply OWN, got into it over how much the Club for Growth was pumping into ads for recalled Republican state Senators.
Analogies about glass houses and stones of course apply, since One Wisconsin Now is often a source for liberal opposition research against conservative candidates and elected officials with near daily news releases becoming fodder for stories in the mainstream media. The Wisconsin Club for Growth is mostly seen as a clearinghouse for conservatives to help fund issue ads.
For those who don’t speak politico, 501(c)4s, or “C4s” for short, get their name from the section of the tax code under which they exist. They are tax-exempt organizations allowed to take unlimited contributions to help lobby, organize and effect change in public policy. They are not required to disclose where their money comes from, and are forbidden from promoting or attacking specific candidates or candidate positions. However they can go up on television to try to sway voters through third-party issue ads.
C4s became very popular following the 2004 presidential campaign after efforts to shut down 527 groups, (similar styled organizations like political parties, unions, and third-party groups that can take unlimited contributions but must disclose donations) failed. They’ve since become commonplace for both sides, and some 527s just morphed into C4s.
One Wisconsin Now is an offshoot of Progress Now, based out of Colorado; while the Wisconsin Club for Growth is an offshoot of the national Club for Growth. Both appeared on the scene around 2006 or 2007. In One Wisconsin Now’s case, it was bankrolled by millions in undisclosed seed money from wealthy liberals across the nation with rumored assistance from big-money Wisconsin donors like Schlitz brewing heiress Lynde Uihlein and Judy Faulkner of Verona-based EPIC Systems. But perhaps the greatest irony to its founding was having John Krause as its initial executive director. Krause, a longtime campaign aide to former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold – a man noted for his commitment to full disclosure on all forms of campaign spending – was now leading a group that was never legally required to tell who financed it.
The Wisconsin Club for Growth has always been figure-headed by R.J. Johnson, a long-time Republican consultant who specializes in political advertising. Some will now claim Johnson’s ties to Gov. Scott Walker as his motivation, but in actuality he’s been doing it for years for a number of conservative causes and candidates.
While seen as annoying to most, and underhanded to some, the reality is 501(c)4s are here to stay and appear to be serving a role in our political atmosphere few others can. Many of these groups specialize in organizing voters, informing the public about past votes and statements, or just being a place to converse with the like-minded no matter what side of the political aisle you’re on. They usually have thousands of members and make for a ready-made group of campaign volunteers.
So if you see any of these groups arguing it out on the street, let them go at it. It has its own spectator value and most importantly, it’s what democracy is supposed to look like, or so we’ve been told.
Kevin Binversie is a Wisconsin native who has been blogging on the state’s political culture for more than eight years. He has served in the George W. Bush administration from 2007-2009, worked at the Heritage Foundation and has worked on numerous Wisconsin Republican campaigns in various capacities, most recently as research director for Ron Johnson for Senate. Contact him at kevin.binversie@franklincenterhq.org.