Capitol Undercurrents

Soft money slinks back

Take this job and. . .?-- An anonymous wag in the press corps supposedly penned the following help wanted notice after learning all three members of the governor's legislative relations office are leaving for other jobs: "Help Wanted: Need extremely sharp and politically savvy person to cater and pander to 60 elected politicians, all their staff, every lobbyist, all commissioners, state division directors, and the governor and his staff. Must report to the chief of staff and must not be able or willing to make deals or arrangements with anybody unless specifically approved by the governor. You will not have access to the governor and the governor may change his mind at any moment on something you were previously told--but you must be willing and able to cover up any embarrassments or broken promises with a smile." Mike Tibbles, the lead legislative guy is reportedly moving to a deputy commissioner spot at Admin and Randy Ruaro, Mike's deputy, is reportedly heading to the AG's office.

Changing minds one voter at a time-- Dennis Fradley, the recent but former communications director for the governor and former editorial writer for the Voice of the Times told the high-end but worth it Alaska Budget Report that his sojourn in Juneau means he could no longer pen pro-capital move editorials. "(Juneau) is a wonderful place, with wonderful people," he told the reporter. Dennis is back in Anchorage working for AHFC but maybe he and his wife will consider our community for their retirement home.

      I stole the above headline from a New York Times editorial that ran some months ago. Electoral events happening recently in Alaska reminded me of the pithy description.
      The euphoria of the federal McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform act is gone. Soft money that used to flow from corporations and unions and rich people into the coffers of the national parties to supplement the hard money used by candidates has become squishy money going to groups organized under the nation's tax code as '527s' or '501(c)s'.
      The national Democrats have usually, but not always, benefited from 527s funded by a few wealthy individuals. The 527s have been under constant attack by the Republicans who usually, but not always, benefit from the 501(c)s, the nonprofit groups like the NRA and National Right to Life Committee. The major difference between the 527s and the 501(c)s is that 501(c)s don't have to file reports on how much they spend until after the federal elections and they never have to disclose where the money came from--who the donors were.
      Both groups, the 527s and the 501(c)s, are raising and spending tons of money in support of candidates or against their favored candidates' opponents. They advertise in our newspapers, on radio and television, and they send "information" to us through the U.S. Postal Service. Tens of millions of dollars, probably in excess of $100 million, will be washed through these organizations in attempts to influence the presidential race and the races for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives
      The people running these groups are smart, so they won't waste their money trying to convince Alaskans to move to either the Bush or Kerry camps. They're ceding Alaska's minimal electoral votes to George W. Bush. But we are seeing their money (or what their money can buy) in the closely fought battle for Alaska's junior seat in the U.S. Senate.
      We can expect to see much more. National political pundits suggest that control of the U.S. Senate hinges on elections in just a few key states and Alaska is one of 'em.
      Last month a Virginia 501(c) group called Americans for Job Security paid for a large, statewide television buy to accuse Senate candidate Tony Knowles of trashing Alaska's economy. (This East Coast group has a history in Alaska--they waded into Alaska's politics in 2002 in support of Frank Murkowski's bid for governor and used the same message against Fran Ulmer.)

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Soft money slinks back...

Undercurrents...

      Americans for Job Security (AJS) is one of the most politically active 501(c)s and, along with the drug company-backed United Seniors Association and the American Taxpayer Alliance, spent nearly $40 million in support of the GOP in 2002. The group was the focus in May of one of the best political journals around--the Washington Monthly (www.washingtonmonthly.com). Here's what the magazine reported:

• AJS is a 501(c) not-for-profit trade organization;
• AJS has just one employee, has no web site, issues no papers, and does no lobbying;
• AJS membership is secret;
• In 2000, AJS spent $9 million on political ads and dumped another $7 million into political ads in 2002 (including ads against Fran Ulmer and for Frank Murkowski);
• AJS is spending millions more this year to influence high profile elections;
• AJS insists that electioneering is not its primary purpose (because that, of course, would be in violation of its tax status);
• AJS insists it spends no money on political activity (see above point);
• AJS spends 95 percent of its receipts for ads extolling or attacking candidates; and
• AJS doesn't ever have to tell where its money came from, though the American Insurance Association and the American Forest and Paper Association have gone public with their involvement and other press reports have noted a pharmaceutical industry connection).

      I don't mean to suggest that these campaign finance loophole groups operate on behalf of just one party. Of course they don't. I do mean to suggest that their operations for or against anybody, though, be more transparent.
      If Americans for Job Security wants to dip its fingers into Alaska electoral politics like it did in the 2002 gubernatorial race and like its doing in the 2004 U.S. Senate race, then it ought to say right up front who's paying for their attack ads. Alaskans have, it seems to me, a right to know who is paying for the megaphone and how much the megaphone cost.
      That happens with the 527s. The 527s have to report where their money comes from, whether it's Hollywood producers, tech billionaires or financiers like George Soros. The 527s also have to report how much they're spending before the elections. With the 501(c)s, voters don't know whose pinkie rings the organizations are kissing. They never have to report who gave them the money and they don't report until after the elections how much they spent.
      The question that needs to be asked of Alaska's candidates for the U.S. Senate is whether or not they'll sponsor or support legislation that, at a minimum, requires 501(c) front groups like Americans for Job Security to disclose before elections who is paying for electioneering ads and how much they are spending to influence the vote. I'd also like to know whether our U.S. Senate candidates believe the IRS should audit some of these 501(c) organizations--like Americans for Job Security--to determine if the organizations are primarily involved in electioneering and thus in violation of their tax status.

Alaska, graded on the curve-- The Taxpayers Network (http://www.taxpayersnetwork.org) in its 2004 edition of 50 State Comparisons helps define Alaska by comparing our state to other states and the District of Columbia. Here's some of the comparisons: Alaska is #1 in households with computers and households with internet access; 15th when it comes to per capita income; #48 (that's a good ranking in this instance) when compared to others in percent of population below the poverty level; 50th in tax burden on the retired population; 51st in combined state and local tax burden; #1 in federal spending per capita; 50th in the change in state per capita general fund spending between 1990 and 2001 with a reduction of 41.1 percent (the U.S. average was a gain of 18.1 percent); 22nd in small business survival rate; 7th highest in average auto insurance premiums; 42nd in K-12 student-pupil ratio and 42nd in public high school graduation rate; 12th in estimated public school teacher salaries for 2002-03; 11th in crime rate in 2001 and 2nd in incarceration rate; and 9th in percent of population without health insurance for the entire year.

Phone: (907) 465-4947 Fax: (907) 465-2108 Mail: Sen. Elton, State Capitol Juneau, AK 99801 Email: Senator.Kim.Elton Jesse.Kiehl Paula.Cadiente Web: http://elton.akdemocrats.org