Rove's American Crossroads 527 has reportedly already "received commitments of almost $30 million" Rove's new Republican 527 reportedly "expected to play a big role in helping the GOP." In a March 31 _post_ (http://mediamatters.org/rd?to=http://undertheinfluence.nationaljournal.com/2010/03/big-time-donors-not-so.php) , National Journal reporter Peter H. Stone reported that Fox News contributor Karl Rove and Republican strategist Ed Gillespie are promoting a new 527 group called American Crossroads. Stone wrote that the group "has been assembled quietly but is expected to play a big role in helping the GOP improve their fortunes in congressional contests this fall." Stone also reported that the group has "received commitments of almost $30 million and is seeking to raise a total of some $60 million to help dozens of Senate and House incumbents and challengers this fall." >From Stone's March 31 post on the National Journal's blog, Under the Influence: Big time donors fretting about Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele's troubles are helping fuel early fundraising success for a new 527 group being promoted by GOP uber strategists Ed Gillespie and Karl Rove. The duo, capitalizing on upbeat expectations about GOP congressional prospects this year, spent time in Texas about a month ago. They visited with several of the state's super rich political donors and came away with a sizeable pledge from Dallas billionaire Harold Simmons, who was a big bundler in 2008 for the presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. The new 527 group, American Crossroads, has been assembled quietly but is expected to play a big role in helping the GOP improve their fortunes in congressional contests this fall. GOP operatives say that having Gillespie, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee, and Rove, the ex political guru to the George W. Bush administration, pitching donors is a potent combo. "Ed's got the better rap and Karl's got the better rolodex," says a GOP lobbyist familiar with the new venture. Gillespie has indicated that he won't be formally affiliated with the 527, but acknowledged that he's hitting up contributors for it. "I've supported the idea of a 527," Gillespie told National Journal. "I've encouraged people to support entities like American Crossroads." Rove did not return a phone call seeking comment about his efforts. So far, the new soft-money group, American Crossroads, has received commitments of almost $30 million and is seeking to raise a total of some $60 million to help dozens of Senate and House incumbents and challengers this fall, say three sources familiar with the new 527. In contrast, at the start of January, the Republican National Committee had only $8.4 million in the bank compared with the $22.8 million it had on had a year earlier when Steele was elected chairman.
-- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
