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| MoveOn.org Criticizes Campaign Ads |
(IRN) -- A liberal group is blasting the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate for benefiting from advertising from "right-wing front groups."
Move On.Org, an organization that primarily focuses on nonpartisan education and advocacy on national issues from a progressive perspective, says corporate spending in the Illinois Senate Race is out of control. The group says so far $1.3 million has been spent by corporate and right-wing interest groups to help elect to the Senate U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Highland Park).
Speaking outside of Kirk's Northbrook office, the Move On members says groups like American Crossroads, a group founded by Karl Rove and former RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie, have spent as much as $80 million nationwide on congressional races. A court decision in January, Citizens United, overturned a ban on using corporate funds in politics, allowing corporations to donate to groups like American Crossroads and Americans for Prosperity, founded by oil billionaires David Koch and Charles Koch. Funds can be donated to these groups secretly. In turn, those groups run ad campaigns targeting specific Democratic candidates.
While the practice is legal, Move On says it lacks transparency, as corporate and individual donors remain anonymous.
Move on supports Democrat Alexi Giannoulias in the Senate race.
Kirk has said he is fine with independent groups that don’t disclose their donors, calling it the First Amendment on full display.
(Illinois Radio Network) |
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| 10 16 10 by Newsroom |
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