Is Crossroads the new RNC?

It is hard to fathom that a donor can make a $10M contribution to Crossroads yet they don't have to be revealed.  Rove and the rest of his group attack Democrats but what is the difference?  They have taken fundraising, attack politics, and dishonesty to a new low level in the opinion of a lot of the grassroots Republicans and Democrats.  Looks like we are joined by at least one State Chair from PA but then he saw what these people along with the Romney Super PAC did to former Senator Santorum.

Gillespie has supposedly gone to work for Romney but they want us naive suckers to believe that there is no coordination.  Rove and company set out to make Romney the nominee for the establishment and he got the job done with 'scorched earth' all over the place.  He may be one of the most unethical consultants in either party today yet he is front and center on Fox News which doesn't say a lot about the integrity of Fox News and Roger Ailes.

Now we have two parties that are virtually identical controlled by big money who when they snap their fingers these office holders better jump.  How did this happen?  How did our political system get sold to the highest bidder so they continue to make their money because they control many members of the Congress and now want complete control of the White House with one of their own -- Mitt Romney.  Beginning to think this could be worse then with Obama and I cannot believe I just said that.  We knew Obama was a liberal but we also know that deep down so his Romney no matter how they try to dress him up as conservative.  He is underhanded and devious so who knows what he would be like in the White House.

When you read this, it makes you sick if you have been involved in honest politics over the years but then Rove from the time he was a College Republican has been about dirty tricks and underhanded tactics to get candidates elected or defeat those his handlers didn't like.

Is this what we have to look forward in year's to come because if it is, why do any of us bother to vote or help any candidates except at the local level.  If the members of Congress won't stand up to Rove, Soros and the ilk in Congress to fix this mess, then why bother to have elections?  Just have both parties pick the nominee and tell us who to vote for which is what we are seeing today.

Shame on the establishment of the Republican Party for allowing this to happen because they are so greedy for money and power -- they are no different then the establishment of the Democrats.  Maybe it is time for the grassroots of both parties to join together and get behind candidates who are honest and let the two national parties and their Super PACs try and find votes or are they going to do voter fraud like this primary when the votes are not there?  If anyone thinks I am thoroughly disgusted, then they would be correct.

This is wrong on so many levels.  How do we fix it?  That is the $64,000 question but where there is a will there is a way.   The grassroots of both parties are not going to sit down and shut up while the establishment of both parties attempt to run over us and tell us what to think.  It is not happening.

Outside groups cast outsized shadow over RNC

By MAGGIE HABERMAN |
4/20/12 6:19 PM EDT 

I reported last night that American Crossroads and Crossrads GPS have raised a combined $100 million so far this cycle, a third of the way toward their overall goal, and Ken Vogel and James Hohmann add a bit more context:

Here at the Scottsdale Fairmont Princess Resort, the Republican National Committee is mired in the minutiae of the nominating calendar and convention rules.  

Meanwhile, back at 1401 New York Ave., NW, in a nondescript office suite in downtown Washington, the decisions that could make or break Republicans in 2012 are being made. It’s the headquarters of the Karl Rove-linked Crossroads groups, the center of a network of unlimited-money outsiders.  

Crossroads alone announced Friday it had raised $100 million through the end of last month for its 2012 efforts. And while it’s debatable whether the haul puts Crossroads on pace to raise the jaw-dropping $300 million it hopes to spend during campaign 2012, it definitely puts them on the same plane as the RNC, which had raised $122 million for its 2012 efforts through March. Crossroads has even raised more money this year, pulling in $49 million to the RNC’s $44 million.  

But it’s not just Crossroads’ money that poses a threat to the RNC. While the official GOP navigates bureaucracy and internal tensions, outside groups led by just a handful of seasoned operatives are quickly and quietly coordinating their strategies and ad buys in regular meetings held in Crossroads’ conference room. 

The fundraising ability, influence and efficiency of these groups is raising questions about whether this year isn’t just a fluke, but the new normal — where outsiders are the real power center of conservative politics.  

Some party operatives say they hope not — questioning the outside groups’ secretive style and their commitment to get-out-the-vote activities and other organizing grunt work that’s critical to party politics.   

“The money’s misguided going to these super PACs,” said Pennsylvania Republican Chairman Rob Gleason, who is attending the RNC meeting here. 

“The state parties and the presidential candidates need the money in order to develop voter-turnout models and get the people out,” he said. While he welcomed “these big checks from these big fellas” giving to Crossroads and other outside groups, Gleason added “I don’t know where the hell all that money goes.” 

While Democrats are also trying to outsource some of their political work to unlimited-money outside groups, their donors have been reluctant to support their own version of the Crossroads network.  

On the Republican side, it’s easy to see the advantages. The RNC model is a plodding bureaucracy governed by 168 sometimes-feuding elected members and limited to $30,800-maximum contributions – all of which have to be disclosed. 

The Crossroads model is a low-overhead attack machine helmed by Rove, Carl Forti, Ed Gillespie and a handful of other battle-hardened GOP operatives who are answerable only to the few dozen super-rich donors underwriting the operation with seven- and eight-figure checks – the biggest of which are not disclosed.  

On the one hand, the shift sounds like something the Heritage Foundation would recommend for the federal government – a pure manifestation of the efficiencies that Republicans hold dear. On the other hand, though, it raises red flags for some Republicans, who worry that Crossroads has spawned an extra-party infrastructure that lacks accountability, could siphon off resources from party committees and candidates, and shift the GOP’s focus away from grassroots organizing to an attack-ad-centric strategy.    

At best, Party loyalists say, the RNC, which is legally barred from coordinating with Crossroads and other outside groups,could benefit by ceding the ad wars to them.

Put another way - folks like Rove, Gillespie and Forti have as great and, in some ways, greater sway with a core group of Republicans than the RNC does. Crossroads GPS does not have to disclose its donors, and got a donation of $10 million that went undisclosed - a point its critics highlight as a measure of a lack of transparency. 

The missions are different - the RNC is tasked with working in concert with state parties to coordinate staffing, phones, volunteers and offices in key states. The RNC can also hire people and coordinate with Boston, which the outside groups cannot do. But as the debate rages over how much of a role paid media will play in moving the dial, it's hard to overlook the financial edge of groups that will flood the airwaves.
* This post has been updated
Source:  Politico