


A few independent groups already are active: Ads portraying Barack Obama as weak on terrorism are circulating over the Internet. And messages from organized groups questioning John McCain's commitment to veterans and government reform are posted on their Web sites.
But, hindered by tougher regulatory enforcement, a drawn-out primary campaign and cease-and-desist signals from those two front-running candidates, the so-called 527 groups, named after a tax-code provision, have been slow to coalesce.
Members of Obama's finance team earlier this month urged his donors not to finance the 527 groups, and called on them to instead work with his campaign directly. The message has left many donors and group organizers seeking clarity from the campaign.
Not enthusiastic
On the Republican side, many big-dollar donors are not particularly enthusiastic about pouring millions of dollars into outside groups to help McCain, who has been a longtime critic of 527 organizations.
Cleta Mitchell, a campaign finance lawyer who advises such outside groups, said conservatives are not showing much interest in the presidential race, focusing instead on congressional contests and state judicial races.
"To be quite honest, these are grassroot activists and they're not all that enamored with McCain," she said. "This is what they say: 'We need to have as many conservatives as we can scrounge together in every other office because whoever is in the White House, we'll probably be fighting with them on a lot of issues.'"
Among Democrats, groups and donors are unwilling to publicly criticize Obama. But they stress that independent organizations need money to carry out their message, not just at the presidential campaign level, but down the ballot as well. They worry that Obama may freeze the resources of Democratic-leaning 527 groups and other nonprofit organizations in the political arena.
A change election
"This is a change election and there needs to be change agents elected in congressional races and in the White House," said David Donnelly, director of Campaign Money Watch, a 527 group that has accused McCain of backing away from his longtime advocacy of legislation limiting the influence of money in politics. "We will be trying to raise and spend money for paid media in races where candidates' positions on reform can be an issue."
Obama aides said they are not trying to cut out groups that are not involved in the presidential contest. But, Obama spokesman Bill Burton said, "We've been clear, if folks want to help out our campaign, they should do it through our campaign."
Some liberal and labor groups, such as MoveOn.org and the Service Employees International Union, are already airing anti-McCain ads paid for through their political action committees. But neither Obama nor McCain has aimed criticism at PACs because they operate under stricter fundraising and reporting regulations than 527 groups do. PACs, for instance, cannot receive unlimited donations from wealthy contributors and can't get money from corporations or unions.
FEC fines
What 527 groups ultimately do depends on how lawyers advising these groups interpret a series of Federal Election Commission rulings over the past two years that heavily fined 527 organizations that participated in the 2004 presidential election.
Among those fined was the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which raised unsubstantiated allegations about John Kerry's Vietnam War record. The FEC has since adopted rules that say groups can air "issue ads" but can't criticize the character of a candidate.
"We can't do in 2008 what we did in 2004," said Chris LaCivita, a Republican operative who worked on the Swift Boat ad campaign.
Donors on either side also have not focused on the general election yet, given that the Democratic contest between Obama and Hillary Clinton is still under way. Republican donors, if not ambivalent about McCain's candidacy, have wanted to wait to make sure who the Democratic opponent would be.
(star-telegram.com)