Nearly $6M in Michigan ads to unseat Obama come from independent groups

Nearly $6M in Michigan ads to unseat Obama come from independent groups

July 6, 2012
By Todd Spangler
Detroit Free Press Washington Staff
WASHINGTON – More than $6 million has been spent on TV ads seeking to influence the presidential election – but it’s not the presidential campaigns themselves that are doing the spending.

An analysis from the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, based in Lansing, showed Friday that neither President Barack Obama nor Republican rival Mitt Romney has paid for TV advertising in Michigan since the contested GOP primary in the state – won by Romney – on Feb. 28.



But some $6.4 million has been spent by independent groups, with most of it -- $5.8-million – coming from groups that the Michigan Campaign Finance Network said place “candidate-focused ‘issue’ advertisements designed to emphasize one issue: The unsuitability of Barack Obama to be re-elected president.” The rest – about $600,000 – came from Restore Our Future, the Super-PAC created to support Romney’s run for president.

"What we're seeing is the demise of accountability in federal political campaigns," Rich Robinson, who runs the nonpartisan Michigan Campaign Finance Network, said of the spending so far. "This well-funded, highly coordinated campaign hid the identity of those who provided more than 90 percent of the money behind it.”

And it’s far from over: On Friday, Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies announced a new $2.1-million ad buy in Michigan urging “the president to address the nation’s out-of-control debt and adopt policies that will rescue the flat-lined economy.” Its release was timed to Friday’s disappointing jobs report.

The ad is called “Excuses” and will also air in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio and Virginia beginning July 10 and running through early August, a combined $25-million media buy. Crossroads GPS ran a $2-million campaign in Michigan during May and June.