501-C6 Non Profits are what both Rove and Jon Stewart are talking about. Rove has set up several, and taken in millions in secret contributions to fund Republican attack ads. The Chamber of Commerce is one, and it is putting up to $100 million into political attack ads funded by secret donors.
Why is that a problem. Suppose I own a company that can make huge profits, but unfortunately my factories have to be at the headwaters of major rivers, and the process is most profitable if I dump deadly pollution into those rivers, poisoning everyone and everything downstream. So I decide that rather than spend $100 million cleaning up my act, it’s more cost effective to cut some backroom deals with politicians who will regulate pollution, and back them to the tune of $50 million. I help them get elected. They make it legal for me to kill people, fish, wildlife—who cares what. I pocket $50 million for the exchange.
Here’s a real world example. It is illegal for foreign governments of companies to spend money influencing American elections. But the Chamber of Commerce doesn’t have to disclose who donates to it. It has received nearly $1 million in donations from foreign sources. It puts those funds in its general account. It has committed to spend between $75 million and $100 million from its general fund in advertising to support politicians who, among other things, happen to support tax credits for companies that off-shore American jobs.
While it would be a crime for a political party to take a big donation from India Inc. in return for legislating tax breaks for outsourcing, the Chamber can accept funds, and nobody can know who gave or what they wanted in return. Big Corporations want tax breaks for off-shoring jobs because it boosts their profits. They want all environmental regulations lifted, they want workplace standards, safety standards, minimum wage requirements, anything that cuts into their profits rolled back. But XYZ Corp doesn’t want its US customers to know it is helping elect politicians who will do those things. That might be very bad for business. Hence the attractiveness of the secret donation.
The reason the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision is so great a threat to American liberty is it lets huge money interests pour unlimited funds into influencing elections, and they con do it in complete secrecy. We can’t know what deals they may have struck with a politician in return for the millions they give his or her campaign. We can’t even know who is paying for the attack ad or what they hope to gain by getting one candidate in office in lieu of the other.
Our whole political process relies on transparency. We the People deserve to know who is behind an ad, and what they might stand to gain by pushing their agenda.