Several US groups raising money in Hillary’s name
Former secretary of state yet to decide on running for White House
washington — As former secretary of state Hillary Clinton weighs a run for president in 2016, at least a dozen independent groups, from the serious to the mysterious, have sprung up to raise money in her name.
Sporting names such as Madam Hillary 2016, Hillary FTW and other variations on Clinton’s name, the new crop of political action committees (PACs) is a sign of the 66-yearold’s enduring star power more than 20 years after she first became a national figure as the wife of President Bill Clinton.
Some of the groups hope to emulate the success of Ready for Hillary, the organisation of well-connected Democrats that already has raised millions of dollars to encourage Hillary Clinton to launch a bid to become the United States’ first woman president.
Others don’t have much to show for their efforts. A few won’t say what they plan to do with any money they raise.
The groups illustrate the Wild West landscape of political finance four years after the US Supreme Court ruled that independent groups can raise and spend as much as they want on elections, as long as they don’t work directly with a candidate.
In the 2012 election, the dozens of “Super PACs” and nonprofit groups that popped up to take advantage of that decision largely were run by political insiders such as former White House aide Karl Rove, whose American Crossroads PAC spent more than $100 million to help Republicans that year.
This time around, Super PACs also have become a tool for ambitious citizens who in previous elections might have simply opted for a yard sign.
Anyone can file the paper work with the Federal Election Commission to set up a Super PAC, and such groups can spend whatever money they raise however they wish. That means it’s up to donors to do their homework before writing a check, election-law specialists say.
Los Angeles labour lawyer Samuel Deskin set up Hillary PAC last month to promote a Clinton presidential run and elect more Democrats to Congress. The group has produced a slick Internet video and plans a fundraising event this summer.
Other PACs carrying Clinton’s name are a bit less conventional.
In San Francisco, Clinton supporter Sam Lucas has set up Madam Hillary 2016, which he calls a “gay Super PAC gone wild,” to rally the gay and lesbian community around Clinton.
In Alexandria, Virginia, a man named Eric Williams said he has fielded “millions” of media inquiries since he set up a Super PAC called Hillary 2016 in February, but he declined to discuss his activities further.
The fundraising activities for such groups, if there have been any, should become somewhat clearer in June, when the next quarterly fundraising reports are supposed to be filed with the FEC.
Meanwhile, the founders of a Super PAC called Time for Hillary have a record of financial problems and failed business ventures, according to the Center for Public Integrity, an investigative news outlet. The two people listed as officers for the group did not respond to a request for comment.
Another web site, Hillary.org, solicits donations for an “HRC for President in 2016 Committee.” The committee’s identification number points to a separate PAC that was shut down by a relative of its founder in 2006. A California phone number listed in the web site’s registration records has been disconnected and a contact email appears not to be working.
A group called Stop Hillary PAC raised $274,000 last year and already has crossed swords with pro-Clinton forces.
The group complained to the FEC that Ready For Hillary is violating campaign-finance laws because it rented an email list left over from Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign. —