So Who Really Is Paying Journey to Play for the Republicans?
ProPublica: Articles and Investigations
by Kim Barker
For the latest act of goodness performed by a politically active social welfare
nonprofit that is supposed to benefit the community as a whole, look no farther
than Liberty Plaza in Tampa Bay. Sure, Lynyrd Skynyrd had to cancel its concert
Sunday night — potential hurricane — but on Thursday night, Journey is
scheduled to rock the Republican National Convention for 90 minutes.
The ‘80s-era band will be paid a reported $500,000 — first said to be from the
Mitt Romney campaign — to play the show. The Romney campaign denied paying a
cent, leading to various headlines and Journey saying the gig was just a gig,
and not a political endorsement. (To that, we say, "Any Way You Want It,"
Journey. Some will win, some will lose.)
ProPublica figured that this whole Journey controversy could help show the
complexity of how outside spending groups — particularly social welfare
nonprofits that don't disclose their donors — interact with campaigns, and how
difficult it can be to tell all the different players apart.
A social welfare nonprofit called the American Action Network actually is
sponsoring the Journey concert at the American Action Network Pavilion at
Liberty Plaza, which is sandwiched between the Tampa Bay Times Forum and the
convention protest zone.
Liberty Plaza is described in news reports as the center for fundraising and
partying at the convention. (We can't say for certain, as we're in New York
City, sitting in front of a computer and not using "party" as a verb. That's
right: "Who's Crying Now?") The American Action Network is also sponsoring
concerts by Kid Rock and Trace Adkins at Liberty Plaza.
So, in other words, the concert inside the RNC is not sponsored by any
political party or campaign. It's sponsored by a social welfare nonprofit,
which doesn't have anything official to do with the campaign despite being an
active convention participant.
Although some media reports have referred to the Journey concert as a
fundraiser for Romney, it's doubtful that the concert is an official
fundraiser, given the rules for social welfare nonprofits. Instead, the event
is a fundraiser for a charity called Citizens Helping Heroes. (But if hearing
"Wheel in the Sky" in person motivates someone to give independently to Romney,
there's no rule against it.)
The American Action Network is a good window on the increasing role of social
welfare nonprofits in politics. The group, launched in 2009 by Norm Coleman,
the former Republican senator from Minnesota, has become one of the country's
most politically active social welfare nonprofits, which are also called "dark
money" groups because they don't have to disclose their donors. In 2010, it
reported spending more than $19 million on ads to the Federal Election
Commission.
Donations to these social welfare nonprofits, also known at 501(c)(4)s for the
tax code section under which they are formed, are not deductible, but the
groups are exempt from income taxes. They're allowed to spend some money on
political ads, but they aren't supposed to coordinate with the candidates they
support. (Indeed, the candidates and the outside groups are required to go
their "Separate Ways.") Their primary purpose is supposed to be to promote the
"common good and general welfare of the people of the community," although the
IRS hasn't defined what exactly that means, or even how much politics is
allowed.
As ProPublica has reported, many of these nonprofits have used their social
welfare status to spend money on politics without disclosing who's giving them
money. Two of the most prolific outside groups buying ads this year — GOP
strategist Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS and Americans for Prosperity, founded by
the conservative billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch — are social
welfare nonprofits.
On its application to be approved as tax-exempt in February 2010, the American
Action Network told the IRS that it was "established to carry on public policy,
advocacy, and educational work designed to advance center-right policy
solutions on a range of issues." It also said its goal was to "promote
principles that encourage economic growth, and entrepreneurial spirit,
security, prosperity, and freedom."
We asked the spokesman for the American Action Network how the Journey concert
furthered its social welfare mission but did not hear back as of mid-Tuesday
afternoon. We also asked network spokesman Dan Conston to verify whether
Journey was actually being paid $500,000, as the media has reported, but he
also didn't reply.
(Journey representatives also didn't respond to our questions, including how
much it would cost us to, say, hire Journey for my brother's birthday party. To
brother Todd: Sorry that was just a hypothetical. No "Open Arms" for you.)
And that's the thing about dark money groups: We won't know until American
Action Network files its tax return for this year — which won't happen until
May 2014, based on its current reporting schedule — how much it paid Journey,
or how exactly it will classify the expenses of booking Journey, Kid Rock and
Trace Adkins. But we're betting on the often-used category of "education."
Journey's RNC gig inspired us to compile a playlist of campaign
finance-inspired songs on Spotify. Have any additions? Post them in the
comments below and we'll include the best.
Sent with Reeder
--
Bruce Johnson
UA College of Pharmacy
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