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Pro-Disclosure Ruling Will Likely Force Just One Secret-Money Group To Name Donors

By Josh Israel posted from ThinkProgress Justice on Jul 27, 2012 at 5:30 pm

Freedom Path ad

Freedom Path ad

In late March, a federal judge ruled that the Federal Election Commission had ignored the law and improperly allowed some outside groups to shield their donors from required disclosure. The decision ordered that secret-money groups running “electioneering communications” — independent ads run within 30 days of federal primaries or within 60 days of federal general elections that mention candidates but do not expressly advocate for or against them — must identify all donors contributing over $1,000 bankrolling their efforts. An appeals court refused to stay the ruling.

Today, the Federal Election Commission announced that it will retroactively implement the ruling, until such time as the ruling is overturned:

Effective March 30, 2012, persons making disbursements for electioneering communications should report “the name and address of each donor who donated an amount aggregating $1,000 or more to the person making the disbursement, aggregating since the first day of the preceding calendar year.”

While this would appear to be a victory for disclosure, a review of the new electioneering communication reports filed since that time reveals that outside groups have stopped making these types of decisions entirely. Dark money groups like Crossroads GPS and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that had previously spent heavily on electioneering communications have instead circumvented the ruling by running “independent expenditures” that are more explicitly for or against federal candidates and, ironically, do not require donor disclosure.

The one outside group that has reported a new electioneering communication since that March 30 starting point was a Utah-based 501(c)(4) committee called Freedom Path. Its $26,940 expenditure praising Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Mitt Romney was reported on April 5. As such, it appears the group will have to amend its filings to identify every donor who gave $1,000 or more in 2012.

J. Scott Bensing of Freedom Path told ThinkProgress that the group would have to consult with their legal counsel before making a statement on whether it intends to comply with the new rule.

EXCLUSIVE: GOP Senate Nominee Shorting U.S. Treasury Bonds, Would Profit From Government Default

By Scott Keyes on Jul 27, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Ohio Senate nominee Josh Mandel (R)

The Republican nominee in Ohio’s Senate race stands to reap a significant financial windfall if the government defaults by not raising the debt ceiling, a move he opposed last year and has indicated he would vote against if elected to the Senate.

According to personal financial disclosure documents examined by ThinkProgress, Josh Mandel’s wife owns an undisclosed amount of ProShares UltraShort 20+ Year Treasury exchange-traded fund (ETF). This ETF aggressively “shorts” U.S. Treasury bills, meaning that it bets against U.S. debt and spikes when Treasury bill values drop. If a default were to occur, the desirability of Treasury bills would plummet and Mandel’s ETF would skyrocket in value.

That precise scenario could become more likely if Mandel wins his race against Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH). One of the top issues Mandel lists on his website is to “Stop increasing the debt ceiling.” Similarly, when Congress was embroiled in the debt ceiling fight last year, he stated that he “would have voted against the debt deal” that narrowly staved off a default.

Mandel and his wife’s personal financial disclosure form shows an investment of up to $1,001 in the Treasury-shorting ETF (highlighted in yellow):

In addition, it appears as though Mandel’s wife may own up to $15,000 in additional holdings that bet against U.S. Treasury bonds. As shown below, Mandel lists on page 18 ownership of up to $15,000 of “ProShares Trust Ultrashort (Bond).” Though this is not the name of a specific asset (and thus means the Ohio Republican did not file a complete form) ThinkProgress spoke with a representative from ProShares who noted that they only provide four “ultrashort” bond funds — 20+ year Treasury, 7-10 year Treasury, 3-7 year Treasury, and Treasury inflation protected securities — all of which short Treasury bills.

Though Mandel’s Treasury-shorting holdings may not be gigantic at the moment, their value would soar in the event of a debt default.

Controversy erupted last summer when it was revealed that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor was also betting against long-term U.S. Treasury bonds while opposing efforts to raise the debt ceiling. Mandel’s ProShares UltraShort 20+ Year Treasury stock is the same one that Cantor owned.

The very optics of a politician profiting off a default could present problems for Mandel as he tries to convince Ohio voters to send him to Washington next year so he can “stop increasing the debt ceiling.”

Multiple requests for comment have not been returned by Mandel’s campaign.

Disgraced Arizona State Senator Touts Phony Award From ‘Eduction’ Group

By Adam Peck posted from ThinkProgress Election on Jul 27, 2012 at 11:31 am

A campaign sign for Russell Pearce. Photo by Arizona New Times reporter Stephen Lemons.

Russell Pearce, the recalled Arizona senator responsible for the state’s xenophobic SB 1070 law, is trying to stage a political comeback in his old district by hoping voters forget his actual record on the issues in favor of misleading — and poorly spelled — lawn signs.

An Arizona New Times reporter snapped a picture of one such sign reminding voters about his “Golden Apple Award for Eduction [sic].” The award is handed out by the organization “Arizona Parents for Education,” a deceptively named organization that is in fact run by the president of the Arizona Virtual Academy, a loosely accredited, online-only, for profit home schooling program.

Another campaign sign touted his endorsement by the “Arizona Teacher’s [sic] Association,” a group with no website, no official state documentation, and as far as anyone can tell, no members. Education officials in the state contacted by a local TV news station say they have never heard of the organization and believe it to be a phantom group created by the Pearce campaign solely to endorse his candidacy:

One of those officials is Sam Politio, who has lobbied on education issues at the state Capitol for nearly 30 years.

He said he has no idea what the group is, but fears it’s a political ploy by Pearce to win votes in next month’s primary election.

“It’s deplorable to give the impression that the state’s 100,000 teachers are supporting him,” Polito said in a telephone interview.

As the spelling and grammar errors might suggest, Pearce’s relationship with “eduction” could be generously described as spotty. While a senator, he fought for deep cuts to education programs, and staunchly opposed a temporary penny sales tax increase designed to support public schools that have been forced to cut back on extracurriculars and other programming.

Pearce is best known as the chief architect and sponsor of the state’s unconstitutional SB 1070 law and its controversial “papers please” provision. Opponents

Last year, he became the first Arizona lawmaker in the state’s history to be thrown out of office in a recall election.

NEWS FLASH

Romney Defends Major Tax Cut For Big Oil | The Romney campaign released a statement Thursday defending his plan to lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent. The plan amounts to a major tax cut for Big Oil, a Center for American Progress Action Fund report finds. The 10 percent drop would save the five biggest oil companies — BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Shell — $2.3 billion a year in taxes, on top of the billions in tax breaks and deductions currently in place. The Romney campaign said that, with the new tax cut, “…our job creators are better able to grow their businesses, put people back to work, and turn our economy around.” In 2011, these five companies made $375 million in profits every day, or $261,000 per minute. In order to preserve these remarkable profit margins, Big Oil is putting this money to good use, pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into anti-clean energy ads.

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