Fundraising

Donor Beware: A Guide To The Scammiest Conservative Direct Mail Shops

Jillian Rayfield | May 12, 2010, 12:44PM

It's become a significant siphon on conservative fundraising, intensified amid grassroots anger on the right in the age of Obama: direct mail or direct email outfits hit up conservatives around the country for small donations to beat the liberal agenda, or to support an unknown but exciting new right-wing candidate.

But the vast majority of the money goes to the group's favorite vendors, or in some cases to enriching the group's leaders.

So, for the conservatives out there, here's a guide to some of the questionable groups TPMmuckraker has encountered -- it's probably best to send your money elsewhere:

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Topics: AmeriPAC, BMW, Fundraising, Gary Kreep, Republican Majority Campaign

Republican Majority Campaign

In It For The Money? Conservative PAC Spends Big, But Not On Candidates

Justin Elliott | March 17, 2010, 1:00PM

A California-based PAC called the Republican Majority Campaign spent nearly all of the $1.7 million it raked in from conservative donors last year, but less than 2% of the money went to supporting candidates or independent political spending.

The rest of the money raised by the group went to operating expenses, salaries for the PAC's top officers, and back into fundraising appeals -- which often ask supporters for as much as $144 in exchange for sending faxes opposing health care reform to members of Congress.

The lion's share -- roughly $1.3 million -- of the group's 2009 fundraising haul went to a murky Arizona telemarketing firm that goes under the name Political Advertising, which has been linked to questionable PAC activities in the past. Its business type in the state's registry is given as "telephone fundraising."

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Topics: Bill Posey, Birthermercial, Birthers, Corporation Trust Center, Doug Hoffman, Gary Kreep, HCC Investment, Human Events, Marco Rubio, Mesa, Arizona, Political Advertising, Political Call Center, Randy Goodwin, Republican Majority Campaign, United States Justice Foundation, Wilmington Equities