The Tea Party Express — a PAC without bounds?

(9AM EST – promoted by Nightprowlkitty)

This .org website gives a whole new meaning to Industry ‘Front Group’.

TeaPartyExpress.org

larger

It’s a page designed to solicit Donations — and little else.

The Home link — goes nowhere;  (ie. back to the Contribute Page)

The About link — goes nowhere;

The Media link — goes nowhere;

The Blog link goes to this blogspot page

TeaPartyExpressBlog.blogspot.com

where the lead story is

Don’t Raise Our Taxes – Don’t Repeal the Tax Cuts

and which has this emotive Scary Image:

let me guess, it’s designed to solicit Donations.

Why should you care?

Well it looks like Tea Party Express PAC, just may be breaking Federal Campaigns Laws …

The New York Times is raising such Questions about the whether or not the The Tea Party Express, is ‘coloring within the lines’ with regards to Campaign Finance Laws.

They are NOT the only ones.

G.O.P. Insider Fuels Tea Party and Suspicion

By Janie Lorber and Eric Lipton, NYTimes — Sep 18, 2010

With Ms. [Christine] O’Donnell’s upset victory in the Republican primary on Tuesday, Mr. [Sal] Russo, the chief strategist behind an upstart group called the Tea Party Express, had racked up another win.

[…]

Mr. Russo’s group is also under attack from Republican Party leaders in Delaware, who have accused the Tea Party Express of improperly collaborating with Ms. O’Donnell’s campaign. Federal laws allow political action committees to support candidates independently, but they are not permitted to coordinate their spending with campaigns.

As I recall PACs (Political Action Committees) can run general “Advocacy-Issues” Ads, but they can’t directly assist, or endorse, specific Candidates, beyond certain ‘nominal’ limits.  (Perhaps “Citizen United” has changed this too?)

PACs can give $5,000 to a candidate committee per election cycle (primary, general or special).

PAC Contributions to All Federal Candidates, 1972-2006

From Kathy Gill, About.com Guide — Jan 9, 2009

Well the Republican Party of Delaware, and the New York Times, think the Tea Party Express, may have just “boosted” Christine O’Donnell’s rising rocket to Tea-dom — in excess of what the Law would allow:

In the days leading up to the Delaware primary, Sal Russo hosted a radio fund-raiser, organized a political rally and pressed the case with reporters that Christine O’Donnell was the Tea Party’s choice for the United States Senate. He also set off what he calls a “money bomb,” pouring at least $250,000 into television and other advertisements promoting the little-known candidate.

[…]

During this election cycle, the Tea Party Express has spent nearly $1 million in Nevada alone – $547,000 to support Sharron Angle, the Republican Senate candidate, and $385,000 in opposing Senator Harry Reid, the Democratic leader. In Massachusetts, the group spent nearly $350,000 to back Scott Brown, now the state’s Republican senator.

SO Who is Sal Russo, anyways? … and how has he become the Tea Party Kingmaker, behind the scenes?    [Added to the To Do List. Check! ]

And where is the Federal Elections Commission — shouldn’t they be watching this Big Money inflow, that is Tilting our Elections … towards the Rhetorical Cliff?

One of the virtues of America is that We are all equal — in terms of our Votes.

One person, One Vote.

Simple. Elegant. Powerful.

PAC Finance laws, regarding Soft Money vs Hard Money, were once designed, to ensure that virtue.

To ensure the undue influence of Industry “Front Group” Money could not instantly prop up, and “get elected” some Cartoon-character Candidates — simply by virtue of the Advertising Dollars spent, as opposed the Candidate’s actual Qualifications, Experience, or Individual Character.

It seems that the recent “Citizens United” decision by the Supreme Court make have thrown those “safeguards” out the window … one wonders?

Who’s says that Senate Positions can’t be “bought and paid for” — assuming you have the bucks?

Witness the “Qualifications” of Christine O’Donnell, and the actions of Sal Russo’s Tea Party Express, in foisting her to the National Stage. … a mere Election away from Bachman fame and her misinformation platform.

If this trend continues, as we have seen it unfold recently, with Tea Party unknowns instantly rising to Celebrity-dom, America may one day soon end up, a mere shell of her former self.

A fully bought and paid for subsidy of Corporate Titans like Koch Industries, and the American Petroleum Institute, and the Tea Party astroturf behind-the-scenes backers … whomever they may be.

Grassroots — They are Not.

The Supreme Court and the FEC need to come to grips with some very simple core issues and soon:

Corporations are NOT People.

Corporations have different goals than People do.

Tea Party ‘Politicians’ are often NOT Competent.

Tea Party ‘Politicians’ have different goals than the majority of People do.

Both of these “Interest Groups”, given enough power,

will be a disaster for the Country,

and a disaster for the Constitution … given enough purchasing power, to Co-opt the Institution.

There’s a reason why we uphold a Separation of Church and State —

Near as I can tell the Tea Party aims to “tear down that wall”.

They want to enforce their own twisted view of “Morality” on the rest of us … given the chance.

Hmmm? … kind of sound Taliban-ish, eh?  … (kos was right;  and H/T to WarOnError for that link.)

God help us all — if their Ultra-Conservative Agenda accomplishes its goals, and the Supreme Court become even more Corporate-friendly than it already is.

America (and Americans) desperately needs to find more way to constrain and to punish and to Dismantle the ‘Corporate Powers that Be’ — NOT more ways to empower them, even further.

Experience has shown that unconstrained Corporate Power — is NOT the Creator of wealth for the many …

But Rather that ‘soulless’ Corporate “market forces” are the “Takers” of our National wealth, and general well-being, of the many — NOT the Creators of it.

Recent Experience has shown this to be the case. … In the real world, where the 98% of us live.

Without our own personal “Corporate Boosters” … to help us get by.

Imho.