GOP political giants quietly funding key Senate races

Former Tennessee U.S. Sen. Bill Frist (right) may have formed a unique partnership with campaign guru Karl Rove, sources say. File

Former Tennessee U.S. Sen. Bill Frist has formed a number of partnerships since departing the U.S. Senate two years ago that have kept him in the public eye while staying out of politics — including with former Senate Democratic adversary Tom Daschle.

The City Paper has learned that Frist has quietly teamed up with up with a political figure that has largely defined the GOP for the past eight years — former Bush Whitehouse campaign guru Karl Rove.

Frist and Rove, who is former senior advisor to President George W. Bush, are working to pour millions of dollars into key GOP targeted United States Senate races this election season.

According to sources with knowledge of the Frist/Rove operation, the two national Republican figures have been working with a high-powered Washington-based GOP operative and Rove protégé, Tony Feather. Sources say the duo is raising significant sums of money from individual and corporate donors, which is then directed to Feather. Feather then determines where the money is spent and can best help Republican U.S. Senate candidates and incumbents.

Too Close to Call

The City Paper has learned that money being raised by Frist and Rove is being directed to a 501(c)(4) organization, groups allowed under provisions of the Internal Revenue Code that set forth 28 types of non-profit organizations exempt from some federal income taxes.

National political observers say 501(c)(4) organizations are the newest iteration of the original 527 groups started in the 1990s for the same purpose – funneling corporate and private dollars to fund issue-based campaigns targeting political candidates and races.

Sources said this latest effort by Frist and Rove is raising money in significant sums, in the tens of millions of dollars, and are putting the funds directly towards media buys in U.S. Senate races that are “too close to call.”

Such races that would qualify in this category are in Minnesota, North Carolina, Colorado, Maine, and New Mexico.

Feather has a very recent history with some of the GOP’s most high-profile 501(c)(4) groups.

Feather, who served as political director of the 2000 Bush/Cheney Campaign, was consulting for “Freedom’s Watch” as recently as July of this year. Freedom’s Watch is an independent conservative organization that works to elect conservative members to the U.S. Congress.

When he was brought on it was said he would be directing U.S. Senate efforts for the group, according to The Washington Post. Freedom’s Watch was founded last summer by former Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer.

Just in the past few weeks, Washington, D.C. media outlets have also listed Feather as a co-founder of a new group called “The American Issues Project.” AIP, according to its website, “was founded to champion the conservative values that have made the United States of America a blessed nation: smaller government, a strong and ready national defense, lower taxes, and a government that encourages entrepreneurship and new job creation in America. We also know how critical it is for America to win the war against the radical Islamic extremists abroad so we do not have to fight them here on American soil.”

Freedom’s Watch and The American Issues Project are both 501(c)(4) organizations, but it is unclear whether these organizations or a third group is being used to channel the fundraising efforts of Frist and Rove.

Feather did not return multiple telephone calls to his Washington D.C. office for comment for this story. Nor was contact made with Rove.

When The City Paper attempted to speak with Frist about his fundraising activities this election season, his staff requested an email query directed to his personal assistant.

The request to interview Frist was declined in a message that stated, “Senator Frist’s schedule precludes him from participating in your story.”

The New 527s

According to Karen Blackistone, an attorney with the Washington, D.C. based law firm of Holtzman Vogel, PLLC., a firm that specializes in elections, political, and campaign finance law, 501(c)(4)'s must use the majority of their funding for issues-based appeals but may use the remaining funds for “political purposes.”

When asked to explain, Blackistone said, “527s are 100 percent political while a 501(c)(4)’s primary purpose has to be ‘social welfare’ which means that a majority of their activities could be things like issue advocacy. There is some dispute, however, over what percentage of their activity must be devoted to social welfare to be considered the ‘primary purpose.’ So long as its not their primary purpose, a 501(c)(4) can engage in non-partisan political activity which could include ‘Get out the Vote’ efforts, candidate report cards, rides to the polls, and more.”

As for disclosing who contributes to the organization, Blackistone said “All nonprofit organizations are required to file an annual tax return with the IRS, including the names, addresses and amounts of contributions over $5,000. This information, however, is not required by law to be made public. Under some circumstances, donors may be required to be disclosed publicly on FEC filings if the 501(c)(4) airs issue advocacy electioneering communications.”

Blackistone added that there are many organizations that are organized as 501(c)(4)s that don’t engage in any political activity.

But new groups chartered under 501(c)(4)s are considered by many to be this election cycle’s version of a 527 organization. Perhaps the most famous 527 was the 2004 group “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth,” which was credited with doing significant damage to, if not scuttling, the 2004 presidential campaign of Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry.

With Rove’s protégé Feather in the mix, they have someone who has extensive experience in moving the needle of public opinion in those targeted states.

In addition to his Bush/Cheney work and his associations with Freedom’s Watch and The American Issues Project, Feather has been instrumental in getting the GOP message directly to voters for the past several years through his company, FLS Connect.

FLS Connect describes itself as “innovators in the voter and constituent communications industry” and claims that among their clients are all 50 Republican State Parties, the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, the Republican Governors Association, the United States Chamber of Commerce, Grover Norquist’s group Americans for Tax Reform, Citizens Against Government Waste, and the National Rifle Association, to name a few.

Feather is also experienced in operating 501(c)(4)s, having been a founder of a group called Progress for America in February of 2001. He is no longer in a leadership role of this organization.

The significance of the partnership is simple, by raising such a large amount of money both Frist and Rove retain influence over a large section of the Republican Party’s leadership and position them well in future campaign endeavors.

It was an open secret just a few years ago that Frist was toying with the idea of running for President of the United States. When he left the Senate, after a less than stellar stint as Majority Leader, he decided not to run.

Over the course of the last two years, Frist has allowed his name to circulate as a possible contender in the 2010 governor’s race. Should he make that race, he would likely clear the GOP field. However, his dalliance with Rove could raise more questions as to which office he is really looking at.

Asked about the Frist/Rove efforts, former Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Chip Saltsman, who also managed the recent presidential campaign of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, said that while he was not involved in the effort and had not been aware of the work Frist and Rove were doing, he wasn’t surprised and didn’t think it would have any impact on Frist’s political future.

“This is a very natural thing for Frist to do,” said Saltsman. “He has been working hard to elect Republicans to the U.S. Senate for the last twelve years. My feeling is that he is continuing in that effort.”