Conservatives to launch big ad campaign

WASHINGTON — A conservative advocacy group Monday kicks off a huge ad campaign in 11 states and two dozen of the most competitive congressional races, slamming "wasteful federal spending."

The $4.1-million ad buy from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation does not mention individual candidates in the November elections. The script attacks Washington policies, describing the economic stimulus program as a failure and declaring "wasteful spending must stop."

The ads — part of a midterm election likely to be the most expensive on record — will run in 27 media markets through August. Democrats hold all but one of the 24 House seats, including 17 incumbents seeking re-election. The television buys are in Arkansas, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Several of those, including Ohio, Pennsylvania and Missouri, also have tight Senate races.

Its donors are a mystery but are presumed to include David Koch, founding chairman of the foundation and a prominent conservative donor.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and other Democrats accuse Koch of shipping jobs overseas via his privately held energy company, Koch Industries.

Democratic House candidates enjoy a 2-1 advantage in cash on hand over Republicans. But Van Hollen and other Democratic leaders fear this could be wiped out by donations from wealthy individuals and corporations who have new freedom to participate in elections.

In January, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that corporate and union funds could be spent directly on election campaigns. Those funds had been restricted by law and generally could only be used for "issue advertising" or indirect educational efforts.

Democrats tried to pass legislation that would require disclosure of donors, but the bill stalled in the Senate.

Last week, President Obama cited the foundation at an Austin, Texas, fundraiser. He said "groups with harmless-sounding names like Americans for Prosperity" could dump millions into an election without voters knowing who was behind the effort.

"And they don't have to say who exactly the Americans for Prosperity are," Obama said in Austin.

Americans for Prosperity describes itself as an "organization of grassroots leaders who engage citizens in the name of limited government and free markets on the local, state and federal levels." Officials say it has more than a million members, all from the United States.

Liberal and labor-backed groups also have begun advertising and organizing for the midterm elections, vowing to provide a countervailing force to heavy donations from the right.

The Service Employees International Union has budgeted $44 million for this election cycle. And other left-leaning organizations, like MoveOn.org and Americans United for Change, are spending money to back Democrats.