The American Issues Project is a political action group organized as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, so that it can engage in limited amounts of civic campaigning, but cannot legally advocate for or against candidates.
During the
2008 United States presidential election, it became known for commercials linking
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
to former
Weather Underground
The Weather Underground was a Far-left politics, far-left militant organization first active in 1969, founded on the Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ann Arbor campus of the University of Michigan. Originally known as the Weathermen, the group was organiz ...
founder
William Ayers
William Charles Ayers (; born December 26, 1944) rose to prominence during the 1960s as a domestic terrorist.
During the 1960s, Ayers was a leader of the Weather Underground militant group, described by the FBI as a terrorist group.
In 196 ...
.
The group has received substantial media attention.
After Obama came into office, the group concentrated on the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed in response to the Gr ...
.
The AIP was co-founded by conservative political activists
Tony Feather
Tony Feather is a Missouri-based American political consultant for the Republican National Committee and Republican candidates and campaign who specializes in direct voter contact. Feather is a co-founder, with fellow Republican Jeff Larson of FL ...
(also a co-founder of the conservative 527 group
Progress for America Progress for America (PFA) (a 501(c)(4)) and its affiliate Progress for America Voter Fund (PFA-VF) (a 527 committee) are national tax-exempt organizations in the United States. PFA was established in 2001 to support George W. Bush's "agenda for Am ...
) and
Chris LaCivita
Christopher Joseph LaCivita (born 1966) is an American political consultant, and partner in FP1 Strategies, a national public-affairs and campaign firm. LaCivita is currently a senior advisor to Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.
LaCivi ...
.
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Funding for AIP, which spent close to $3 million for the Ayers ads, is provided by Harold Simmons
Harold Clark Simmons (May 13, 1931 – December 29, 2013) was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist whose banking expertise helped him develop the acquisition concept known as the leveraged buyout (LBO) to acquire various corpora ...
, who previously gave $3 million to fund Swift Boat Veterans for Truth
Swift Vets and POWs for Truth, formerly known as the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT), was a political group (527 group) of United States Swift boat veterans and former prisoners of war of the Vietnam War, formed during the 2004 president ...
and another $500,000 to Progress for America Progress for America (PFA) (a 501(c)(4)) and its affiliate Progress for America Voter Fund (PFA-VF) (a 527 committee) are national tax-exempt organizations in the United States. PFA was established in 2001 to support George W. Bush's "agenda for Am ...
.
See also
* RightChange.com
RightChange.com was an American conservative political group. It was devoted to electing conservative U.S. Republican Party candidates, thus the reference to the political right in its name. It spent millions supporting Republican candidates in the ...
* The Committee for Truth in Politics The Committee for Truth in Politics first began running ads during the 2008 United States presidential election. and most recently, in 2010, has been running ads opposing financial reforms and targeting Democrats.
History
The conservative group ha ...
References
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Political advocacy groups in the United States
501(c)(4) nonprofit organizations