Over a month ago, I highlighted the Campaign to Defeat Barack Obama, a Tea Party group that had become particularly involved in the Wisconsin recall fight. The group’s rhetoric linked Obama to the recall movement, arguing if Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker lost, it would be a victory for Obama-and, you know, socialism. Many of the group’s emails featured the same mantra: “We cannot let them win.” The post noted that the group spent “over $34,000 on negative ads against the recall efforts,” a number I’d found using the group’s Federal Election Commission reports.
Well it turns out, while the group told the FEC of its activities, it never alerted Wisconsin’s Government Accountability Board. The recall was a state election, governed by Wisconsin’s election rules, and in not registering or filing with the GAB, the group may have violated state law. Today, the Center for Media and Democracy filed a complaint with the GAB against the group for this lack of filing. The Campaign to Defeat Barack Obama did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“They have not disclosed to the people of Wisconsin what they’re spending to support Governor Walker,” says Brendan Fischer, a law fellow at the Center for Media and Democracy. “They are supposed to register with the Government Accountability Board [but] they’re not listed anywhere on the GAB website.”
The complaint hinges on whether these advertisements were about a state or federal election. The group filed federal paperwork as though the ads were focused on the presidential race. However, many of the ads seem pretty focused on Wisconsin’s internal fights. (You can see them all here.)
One, entitled “We Applaud Gov. Walker” begins with a voiceover explaining that “Governor Scott Walker has stood by his principals and provided the leadership what was needed to turn Wisconsin around,” and then launches into various testimonials from, presumably, Wisconsinites telling you how great the governor is. It does end with some negative words on Obama, but ends with the group’s president saying “God bless this great nation and God bless Governor Scott Walker!”
Another features Ronald Reagan’s son saying, “Why in the world would the people of Wisconsin want to go back to those days of yesteryear when the budget was out of control, jobs were not available, is beyond me.”
Back in April, Campaign to Defeat Barack Obama spokesman Joe Wierzbicki explained that “The reason we’ve been so focused on Wisconsin is that the ramifications of the RECALL election are huge.” However, CDBO may likely argue that its ads regarding the recall were mainly about opposing Barack Obama-and not supporting Walker.
If the group is found to have violated the rules, the penalties aren’t particularly severe-$500 per offense according to Fischer. But Fischer notes, there’s also the possibility that the group would get charged with a felony for violation of election law.
Either way, the group hopes to push the Government Accountability Board to be more proactive.
“There’s way too much secret money flowing through Wisconsin,” says Fischer. “If you’re going to be participating in democracy, you should be able to stand behind it and be clear and transparent.”