Adelson Still At It: So-called 501(c) active in Mississippi Congressional Race

Nevada’s own cranky gazillionaire, Sheldon Adelson, owner of the Sands, Etc. and his Freedoms’ Watch organization may be operating as “the cash-strapped NRCC’s de facto independent expenditure campaign [DCCC] according to a complaint filed with the FEC. [Gleaner] The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee filed an April 16^th complaint stating that Freedoms’ Watch and the NRCC were illegally coordinating their operations in the Louisiana 6^th Congressional District – which the GOP ultimately lost – and in the upcoming Mississippi 1^st Congressional District race.

A second complaint was filed on April 23^rd against Adelson’s organization for running a political attack ad that directly and illegally advocated the defeat of a Democratic candidate, and for failed to properly disclose the names of the organization’s donors. Adelson’s outfit earned a third complaint on April 29^th to the IRS [DCCC] because of allegations it violated its tax exempt status by running political attack ads in the LA 6^th District election specifically against the Democratic candidate. According to the DCCC Freedoms’ Watch clearly meets 5 of the 6 criteria the IRS uses to categorize a group as political, and not an exempt 501c. [DCCC]

Some questions raised by the DCCC were answered when Freedoms’ Watch reports turned up at the FEC showing that they had been filed but were not properly posted to the FEC database. The FEC website has now been updated and shows that FW spent $870,000 on advertising between April 23 and May 6. [CQ]

A 501c is not allowed to directly support or oppose any specific candidate, therefore many of the suspect ads being run by Freedoms’ Watch call for the viewer to “Call Candidate X and tell him not to raise taxes.” Also calling the independence of Adelson’s smear shop into question is the fact that its advocacy director was responsible for the NRCC’s independent expenditures in 2006. [CampDia]

When Freedoms’ Watch filed as a lobbying organization with the Secretary of the Senate in 2007, the form showed lobbyists as Bradley Blakeman (Deputy Asst. to the President), Michael Leavitt (Staff Asst. and Regional Representative in Senator Olympia Snow’s office), and Matthew David (Director of Policy, White House Special Asst. to Director for Policy, Department of Justice Bureau for Justice Assistance). [SOPRsen] via [SrcWtch]

Adelson’s minions aren’t the only ones flooding into the Mississippi 1^st. Georgia Rep. Lynn Westmoreland called for the NRCC to send in the “Young Guns” and dispatched staff to Mississippi to coordinate door to door and other forms of campaigning. The “Young Guns” is a fundraising group launched last February by Representatives Paul Ryan (R-WI), Eric “Signature’s Sandwich” Cantor (R-VA), and Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). [The Hill] The RNCC has commissioned eight rounds of polling in the Mississippi 1^st, but has yet to release the ‘top lines.’ [SSP] Politico reports that the flap between Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) and Rep. Tom Cole may be papered over by the creation of an advisory committee to the RNCC. The 12 member body would act as a rapid response “vehicle” to coordinate strategy, fund raising, and outreach.”

The GOP is also sending in some of the older guns, specifically Vice President Dick Cheney, and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee to make election eve appearances with their candidate. Senators Wicker (R-MS) and Cochran (R-MS), and Governor Haley Barbour, have also stumped for the candidate.

Meanwhile back at the Sands: Adelson’s operation “waded in with more than $500,000 in television advertising, mailings, phone calls and other activity.” [RCP]