Wealthy Conservatives’ Full-Court Press to Defeat Obama and Elect Majorities in the House and Senate

I don’t want to come off as presumptuous, but among my friends, family, and colleagues at least, it seems most people would rather that super PACs not exist at all and that presidential elections be controlled by the largest number of average voters rather than by the select super wealthy. That would be my preference.

Wishes aside, super PACs do in fact exist. They are reality in this cycle. And they will have an enormous influence in shaping voter perception.

Monica Langley of The Wall Street Journal wrote an excellent, thoroughly researched article about the influence of super donors in the Republican party. In particular, she examines the intentions of the 80-year old Texas multi-billionaire, Harold Simmons.

I wanted to share this article, in part, because it reveals the shear determination and will of a very powerful man to ensure defeat of Obama in November, along with his administration’s terrible policies.

Few people want to defeat President Barack Obama more than billionaire Harold Clark Simmons, who is willing to spend many millions of dollars in the quest. As it happens, campaign rules now give him the opportunity.

Watching a TV news report that Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum was rising in polls last month, Mr. Simmons wondered about the prospects of the former Pennsylvania senator. He called his personal political muse, Republican strategist Karl Rove.

“Is he worth investing into his super PAC?” Mr. Simmons asked. He rose from his leather recliner in the den and stood at a bay window overlooking swans gliding on a lake encircled by 17,000 tulips. “Does he have a chance?”

“Yes, I wouldn’t count him out,” Mr. Rove said. Mr. Simmons’s wife, Annette, who was keen on Mr. Santorum, promptly donated $1 million to his super PAC, cash badly needed for an ad blitz ahead of the Super Tuesday primaries.

I found it fascinating that two spouses would decide to financially support two different presidential candidates. See “Biggest Spender” chart at the end of article…

[...] Mr. Simmons has so far given $800,000—including $500,000 this week—to super PACs backing former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who won the Illinois primary Tuesday and contends no rival can catch him in the GOP delegate race.

It isn’t particularly important which man wins the nomination, for Mr. Simmons simply wants to defeat the president and reduce the reach of government. “Any of these Republicans would make a better president than that socialist, Obama,” said Mr. Simmons during two days of rare interviews at his Dallas home and office. “Obama is the most dangerous American alive…because he would eliminate free enterprise in this country.”

The tall, lanky, soft-spoken industrialist has given more than $18 million to conservative super PACs so far, making him the 2012 election’s single largest contributor—ahead of billionaires Sheldon Adelson, Mr. Gingrich’s financial patron, and Foster Friess, Mr. Santorum’s biggest donor.
[...]

Mr. Simmons willingness to contribute vast sums of money to assist the campaigns of U.S. senators and congressmen — with the goal of electing two thirds majorities — is most impressive and most encouraging indeed.

Unlike some big donors—including Mr. Adelson—Mr. Simmons isn’t driven by an attraction to a specific candidate or policy. His motivation is broader: to elect Republicans up and down the line in the hopes they will change the overall U.S. tax and regulatory approach.

That helps explain why the biggest chunk of his political contributions in this election cycle have gone not to individual candidates but to Mr. Rove-advised super PAC American Crossroads—its stated mission to defeat Mr. Obama and elect “majorities in both the House and the Senate that are 100% dedicated to rescuing our economy from the Obama agenda.”
[...]
“I’ve got the money, so I’m spending it for the good of the country,” said Mr. Simmons, whose net worth is estimated at $10 billion, up from an estimated $4.1 billion in prerecession 2006, according to Forbes. [...]

Republicans consider super PAC contributions essential to offset an expected advantage by Mr. Obama’s campaign, which had $85 million in reserves at the end of February—more than all four GOP presidential candidates combined, and well more than the $7.3 million on hand for Mr. Romney.

Democrats also have financial advantages when it comes to official party organizations. The Democratic National Committee has outraised its Republican counterpart $157.7 million to $116.3 million so far, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.[...]

Now, for a little whine with that cheese:

Ben LaBolt, of the Obama campaign, said: “Mr. Simmons is a self-proclaimed corporate raider who, like many others representing special interests, will spend whatever it takes to maintain the ability to write rules that benefit his own interests at the expense of middle-class Americans and to the detriment of what’s best for the nation.”
[...]

(Is it not fascinating how liberals always want to decide what is fair and unfair and to do so by stripping away and eroding personal liberties and freedom? In their book, accomplishments and merit are subordinate to “fairness.”)

Mr. Simmons has several companies that are highly regulated.

Many of these companies bear the weight of government regulatory decisions, making Mr. Simmons’s political interest more than simple patriotism. “We live with a smothering of government,” said Steven Watson, Contran’s No. 2 executive. He listed oversight by the Environmental Protection Agency, banking regulators, the Labor Department and Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as “frivolous lawsuits” brought by state attorneys general.
[...]
Mr. Simmons was a key donor for the Swift Boat veterans’ attack ads against Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004, as well as the 2008 campaign ads touting ties between Mr. Obama and Bill Ayers, co-founder of the radical Weather Underground. “If we had run more ads,” he said, “we could have killed Obama.”

Mr. Simmons relishes his chance to give freely in this year’s election, particularly in conjunction with Mr. Rove, the top political adviser to former President George W. Bush. “Karl is the best political mind out there,” he said.

In early 2010, Mr. Rove gathered a handful of big Texas donors for lunch at a private club in Dallas, including Mr. Pickens, real-estate magnate Harlan Crow and Mr. Simmons. Mr. Rove explained how the fledgling group American Crossroads would work to defeat Mr. Obama and get GOP control of Congress. “All of us are responsible for the kind of country we have,” Mr. Rove recalled saying.

After Mr. Rove paused, Mr. Simmons spoke first. “I’m in,” he said. Mr. Rove said Mr. Simmons’s early nod helped give the group instant credibility.

Mr. Simmons said he relies on Mr. Rove’s advice on the prospects and positions of candidates. Aside from his contributions to presidential contenders, Mr. Simmons and his private holding company have, since 2010, donated almost $20 million to American Crossroads, which plans with its sister organization to spend as much as $300 million to defeat Democrats in the November election.

The very private Mr. Simmons and the well-known Mr. Rove have become unlikely partners, chatting by phone every couple of days. “Karl won’t waste my money,” Mr. Simmons said, noting that American Crossroads doesn’t sink money into hopeless or easily winnable contests.

“Getting control of Congress is almost as important as beating the president,” he said. “If Republicans can get control of the Senate, we can block that crap,” which he described as over-regulation of business.

Last week, Mr. Simmons considered whether to give more money to the GOP contenders, as the race narrowed to Messrs. Romney and Santorum. The billionaire with a knack for numbers sees merit in Mr. Romney’s mathematical argument that only he will win enough delegates to clinch the nomination, and he put a half million dollars behind his calculation this week.

“I have lots of money, and can give it legally now,” he said, “just never to Democrats.”

[emphasis added]