Click the logo to donate to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.
Posted on 08/23/2004 1:28:49 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
CNSNews.com) - The Federal Election Commission plans to impose more regulations on 527 political action committees starting with the next election cycle, but a group of conservative African-American pastors Friday announced the creation of their own fund-raising organization to compete in the field dominated by liberal spending groups.
The National Faith Based Initiative Coalition will support Republican ideals and the re-election of President Bush and attempt to close the gap between liberal and conservative 527 groups, said Oliver Kellman, the coalition's executive director.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, liberal 527s have collected about $131 million, while conservative groups have collected a mere $16 million during the 2004 election cycle.
"I think we can make a dent," Kellman said. "I think there [are] a lot of folks out there with money who want to hear the message, but as far as catching up with the Democrats, we'll have to wait and see."
Liberal groups such as America Coming Together and the MoveOn.org Voter Fund, both of which are partially funded by billionaire financier George Soros, dominate the current 527 playing field, their power having surged since the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, signed by President Bush, eliminated the soft-money raising and spending abilities of national political committees.
According to its mission statement, "MoveOn is a catalyst for a new kind of grassroots involvement, supporting busy but concerned citizens in finding their political voice.
"Our nationwide network of more than 2,000,000 online activists is one of the most effective and responsive outlets for democratic participation available today," the group's website claims.
The National Faith Based Initiative Coalition, with a name similar to one of President Bush's favorite federal programs, the Faith-Based and Community Initiative, will join other prominent conservative 527 groups like Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and the Club for Growth in supporting Bush's views or criticizing those of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry.
The political organizations are known as 527s after the section of the Internal Revenue Service tax code that regulates them.
"If we're really going to have political empowerment, we need to go ahead and not blindly give our votes to a party that doesn't care anything about us and has all but abandoned the African-American community and just utilizes them when it comes to getting out the vote," said Kellman.
He said that times have changed, and African-Americans no longer need the government to constantly intervene on their behalf.
"The majority of African-Americans believe in economic opportunity and not handouts ... It's a new world, and with that comes new political affiliations," Kellman said.
During the next election cycle, groups like the National Faith Based Initiative Coalition will face stricter guidelines from the FEC.
This past Thursday, one Democratic FEC commissioner joined with three Republican commissioners to vote 4-2 for the new rules, which will require that any group soliciting more than $1,000 to be used to elect or defeat a federal candidate be considered a "political committee." Such committees would have to register with the FEC and face fund-raising limitations.
The new regulations also stipulate that 527 ads mentioning a federal candidate will have to be funded by at least 50 percent hard money, the type of contributions with strict monetary limits. The new regulations, Kellman said, are not "going to be a hindrance to us."
"We're a 527 political organization. One thing I'd like to stress is -- take away the 527, and we are a political organization. Take away the political, and we're an organization of concerned individuals from the faith-based community who are going to address and really take an active role in the political process of this country."
An e-mail to MoveOn.org and a telephone call to America Coming Together, seeking comment for this article, received no response.
Thanks, good idea. Just sent a letter to the editor re the article. There was a link at the bottom of the page.
Great!
Another blow struck for the truth.
Never forget it was Senator John McCain who brought us to this tragic abyss.
Click the logo to donate to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.
The information labelling Swift Vote Veterans for Truth as a conservative group (along with the data on the amount raised by conservatives vs. liberals) came from the following website
http://www.opensecrets.org/527s/527indus.asp?code=Q01&cycle=2004&format=
Opensecrets.org (the website of the Center for Responsive Politics) uses actual data and is considered a reputable source
From what I can tell, the groups self-declare as conservative, liberal, etc. Just thought I'd clear up the confusion for everyone. :)
~Sarah
The Swiftees will not identify themselves as LIBERAL or conservative- they are both.
Do all groups HAVE to be categorized?
If so, someone else made that judgment call and it is wrong.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.