True Identities of Crossroads GPS and Americans for Prosperity Revealed



Karl Rove,  Mastermind Behind Crossroads GPS

Karl Rove may be gone from the limelight, but he has not forgotten his sworn duty to mislead the public on political matters.  Ham on Wry first noticed political ads sponsored by Crossroads GPS, which Rove conceived, last year, but paid little attention then.  However, of late, this blogs has investigated this supposed 501 (c) (4) organization because of an ad about President Obama two months ago and now an ad running in Florida about Senator Bill Nelson.  The first ad lays blame for rising unemployment, a failed stimulus package, and a large national debt at Obama's feet.  Forget the fact that President Obama inherited the financial debacle that occurred under President Bush's leadership with the domino effect of unemployment, the mortgage crisis and failed financial institutions.  The second ad targets Senator Bill Nelson as bearing responsibility for all of the ills that currently face our nation.  Both illustrate the failure of our campaign election laws to deal with truth in advertising.  In fact, one must look carefully to find the source of these types of ads because the names of the organizations are listed at the end of the ad at the bottom of the screen. 

Even more disturbing than the ads, Crossroads GPS funnels huge contributions from unknown conservative donors to fund negative advertising against Democratic candidates under the 501 (c) (4) designation, a category for social welfare groups.  According to established tax code, section 527 was written specifically for political action groups, which by any definition, better describes Crossroads GPS.  Legally, the government has not granted Crossroads GPS 501 (c) (4) status, but organizational literature identifies it as such. 

Americans for Prosperity is another such 501 (c) (4) organization, founded in 2004 with major support from Koch Industries.  This entity should not be confused with the charitable foundation Americans for Prosperity Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) organization.  The August 30, 2010 issue of The New Yorker, reported that the Kochs have a reputation for"creating slippery organizations with generic-sounding names."  These shadowy outfits "make it difficult to ascertain the extent of their influence in Washington."  AFP provided financial backing for the Tax Day Tea Party in 2009 and recently sent out mailers in Wisconsin to Democratic voters that listed the wrong date as the deadline to return absentee ballots for a recall election tomorrow.  The mailer listed August 11th as the deadline instead of August 9th.  For the past two weeks, Ham on Wry has noticed a seemingly unending barrage of AFP ads blaming President Obama for rising debt and unemployment.  It ends with the female narrator imploring the president to "Put America;s Needs Before Partisan Politics." 

That plea is one of the most facetious in any recent ad.  Instead of asking that of the president, AFP should aim it at the Republican Party, specifically the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party.  They are the ones who displayed blatant partisanship in the debate over raising the debt ceiling. Ham on Wry calls for all informed citizens to protest this kind of manipulation from whatever source it comes.  In fact, voters must demand that campaigns should be run in person and not on television, except in the form of candidate debates where strict rules apply.  Let's show these wealthy ochestrators that the American people are not puppets.  Send them a message stating, "We're mad as hell, and we're not going to take it any more!"