American Crossroads

President Obama's much-anticipated speech about the economy Thursday was supposed to distinguish his vision of the future from presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney's, and it did. As I wrote in my last post , Obama made a case for spending more -- on education, infrastructure, research and other pursuits that benefit the country in the long run -- and taxing more to pay for it. Not surprisingly, he prefaced that message with yet another recap...

The top two contenders in the L.A. mayor's race remain in close fundraising contention as they enter the final 5 1/2 weeks before the primary, but two outside groups also posted significant sums, demonstrating their potential to upend the race. City Controller Wendy Greuel edged Councilman Eric Garcetti by collecting $130,644 to his $84,188 during the fundraising period from Jan. 1 to 19. But Garcetti, who served as council president between 2006 and 2012, holds a considerable lead over Greuel in cash on hand, with $3.55 million to Greuel's $2.94 million.

Washington -- Priorities USA Action, the "super PAC" supporting Obama's reelection, raised $2.5 million in March, ending the month with just over $5 million in the bank. Its biggest benefactor was Amy P. Goldman, a New York-based writer and philanthropist who gave the group $1 million. Comedian Chelsea Handler gave the group $100,000. The pro-Obama group, which has struggled to raise money, nevertheless got more in March than American Crossroads, the heavyweight GOP super PAC that was founded in part by Karl Rove.

Just as the devil's finest trick is persuading you that he doesn't exist (according to the poet Baudelaire), the best trick of big-money political donors may be persuading Americans that Citizens United doesn't matter. Citizens United, of course, is the infamous 2010 ruling by the Supreme Court that overturned limits on political spending via ostensibly independent groups, and thereby unleashed a torrent of donations from corporations and wealthy individuals in presidential and congressional election cycles.

The presidential race is about to get nasty. American Crossroads, the “super PAC” in Mitt Romney's corner, is about to unleash a campaign that aims to unseat President Obama. If money truly buys power, the super PAC may end up being more persuasive over voter opinion than Romney himself.   “American Crossroads, the biggest of the Republican 'super PACs,' is planning to begin its first major anti-Obama advertising blitz of the year, a moment the Obama re-election campaign has been girding for and another sign that the general election is starting in earnest,” reports the New York Times . In February, Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez described super PACs like this: On the national scene, already more than $322 million has been raised in support of candidates for president, with $56 million of that going into “super PACs.” Do you know what a Super Political Action Committee is?

American Crossroads, a conservative group founded by Republican strategist Karl Rove and other party leaders, has raised more than $24 million since it was started this year, including $8 million in the first 13 days of October. Reports filed Wednesday night with the Federal Election Commission shed some light on the group's funding sources. Major donations flowed by way of Texas, the reports show. Bob J. Perry, a Houston home builder known for financing the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, contributed $7 million.

An announcement Tuesday from the Crossroads groups, the nonprofit political organization that Karl Rove helped to found, provides yet another sign that the 2012 money chase has begun and that it will be heavily influenced by new political organizations that can raise unlimited sums. Together, American Crossroads and Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies announced Tuesday that they hope to raise $120 million through the end of 2012. The estimate is just a guess, however; some GOP campaign finance experts speculate that the Rove-connected groups are more likely to raise $200 million to $300 million, as part of what will likely be the most expensive election ever.

My latest column lists my picks for the best and worst political advertisements of this fall's presidential campaign. But don't take my word for it; see them yourself. Here are links to the commercials I mentioned in the column: Best positive ad, Obama: Obama for America, “Determination” Best positive ad, Romney: Mitt Romney, “Too Many Americans”  Most effective negative ad, Obama: Obama for America, “My Job”   Most effective negative ad, Romney:  Mitt Romney, “Right Choice” Best celebrity ad, Democratic: MoveOn.org, “Vote” (Scarlett Johansson, Eva Longoria, Kerry Washington)

President Obama has attended twice the number of fundraisers as his predecessor and has made over a dozen more trips to key battleground states this year. Obama visited battleground states 46 times and attended 58 fundraisers for his reelection campaign since January, according to data compiled by the Los Angeles Times/Tribune Washington Bureau and Brendan Doherty, an assistant professor of political science at the U.S. Naval Academy. By comparison, President George W. Bush visited battleground states just 30 times and attended 29 fundraisers for his reelection campaign in the first 10 months of 2003.

The new role that the super-rich play in electoral politics began to emerge with greater clarity Tuesday as recently formed "super PACs" publicly reported their donors and expenses for 2011. Restore Our Future, the super PAC backing Mitt Romney's candidacy, raised $30 million during 2011, thanks in part to separate $1-million donations from three New York-based hedge fund executives: Paul Singer, Robert Mercer and Julian Robertson. Two privately held corporations each gave $1 million to Romney as well.

One of the biggest outside spenders in the 2012 election has turned its focus to the "fiscal cliff" debate. Crossroads GPS, the conservative nonprofit founded in part by GOP strategist Karl Rove, released a new ad Wednesday slamming President Obama's opening bid in the negotiations to avert year-end tax increases and spending cuts. The spot says the president's plan -- which closely hews to his 2013 budget proposal -- offers "a huge tax increase" and "no real spending reforms.

Conservative guru Karl Rove accused President Obama's campaign Thursday of “suppressing the vote,” placing the blame on the incumbent and partially on Mitt Romney's own efforts for the results of Tuesday's election. Appearing on Fox News, where he enthusiastically contested the network's call of Ohio in favor of Obama earlier in the week, Rove said that Obama had “succeeded by suppressing the vote,” particularly by denigrating “Romney's character, business acumen, experience.” Rove's remarks come after a recent outcry from voices on the left that Republicans were attempting to suppress the vote though voter ID initiatives in vital states such as Pennsylvania and Florida . Turnout for this year's election, as evaluated by exit polls conducted by Edison Media Research, dropped for the first time since 1996, falling from an estimated peak of 131 million in 2008 to 129 million, though growing turnout among several minority groups proved to be decisive for Obama . PHOTOS: Reactions to Obama's victory Rove formerly advised President George W. Bush and currently is an advisor to two prominent independent groups that combined spent more than $170 million during the election.

SACRAMENTO - After a frantic court battle, state election officials succeeded Monday in forcing an Arizona group to disclose the identities of contributors that provided $11 million to a California campaign fund. But the revelations added little clarity for voters. The mystery donors turned out to be other nonprofits, whose individual contributors remained secret. The money started with the Virginia-based Americans for Job Security and was transferred to a group called the Center to Protect Patient Rights.

WASHINGTON -- The race for the Senate has intensified, with big-name surrogates and new money and ads moving into criucial battleground states in this final week of the election. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will cast his early vote Wednesday at Cardenas Market in Las Vegas, a nod to the power of the swing state's Latino electorate in the competitive race the between Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley and Republican Sen. Dean Heller. In North Dakota, Sen. John McCain was set to stump Thursday for fellow Republican Rick Berg, the congressman who is in a surprisingly close contest with Democrat Heidi Heitkamp, a seat the GOP had counted in their column in their pursuit of the Senate majority.

WASHINGTON - In past presidential races, a $7.5-million media campaign could give an outside group like the National Rifle Assn. a significant profile. But that sum doesn't go nearly as far in this year's contest: super PACs and advocacy groups have already reported spending more than $892 million on television ads and other forms of voter outreach - more than three times than at this point in the 2008 campaign, according to the latest tally by the Center for Responsive Politics . That's prompted some groups, such as the NRA, to think differently about how to reach voters on the airwaves - and it explains why swing state residents are having a hard time finding any television program that offers refuge from the relentless deluge of political ads. INTERACTIVE: Battleground states map Typically, political media strategists aim to run their ads during local newscasts, to capture viewers who are purportedly more civically engaged and likely to vote.

My latest column lists my picks for the best and worst political advertisements of this fall's presidential campaign. But don't take my word for it; see them yourself. Here are links to the commercials I mentioned in the column: Best positive ad, Obama: Obama for America, “Determination” Best positive ad, Romney: Mitt Romney, “Too Many Americans”  Most effective negative ad, Obama: Obama for America, “My Job”   Most effective negative ad, Romney:  Mitt Romney, “Right Choice” Best celebrity ad, Democratic: MoveOn.org, “Vote” (Scarlett Johansson, Eva Longoria, Kerry Washington)

President Obama's reelection campaign for weeks has been portraying Mitt Romney as a heartless profiteer who enriched himself in corporate buyout deals that spawned bankruptcies and thousands of layoffs. On Tuesday, Romney and his allies struck back. In twin Web videos, Romney and American Crossroads, a “super PAC,” blame Obama for layoffs at renewable energy firms subsidized by the government. Romney's video cites job losses at Solyndra, First Solar and SunPower.

WASHINGTON - Another ominous sign for embattled Missouri GOP Senate candidate Todd Akin: the heavyweight conservative groups American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS are pulling out of the state and halting their advertising against Akin's opponent, Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill. “The act speaks for itself,” Crossroads spokesman Nate Hodson said Monday. Akin caused a furor Sunday after suggesting in a television interview that women who have experienced “legitimate rape” can biologically prevent a pregnancy.

Here's a short list of Democrats who secretly hope Mitt Romney gets his presidential campaign turned around fast and gives President Obama a run for his money: Heidi Heitkamp, the Democratic Senate candidate in North Dakota; Jon Tester, the Democratic senator from Montana; and Rep. Shelley Berkley, the Democratic Senate candidate in Nevada. Why? Because they're all in close Senate races - and they're all worried about a potential flood of Republican money into their states if Romney's campaign begins to look like a losing proposition.

WASHINGTON -- "Super PACs" and other outside groups have reported spending more than $119 million on the presidential campaign since Mitt Romney unofficially clinched the Republican nomination in early April, a sum that underscores the profound impact independent political groups are having on the 2012 presidential race. Two-thirds of that money has gone into television ads and other efforts opposing President Obama's reelection and backing Romney's bid, according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission data by the Times Data Desk.