Labor & Employment Law

Foreign Money Helps Finance Chamber?s Political Attack Ads

By Mike Hall

The Chamber of Commerce?which, as of mid-September alone, has aired more than 8,000 ads on behalf of GOP Senate candidates??is likely skirting long-standing campaign finance law that bans the involvement of foreign corporations in American elections,? according to a Think Progress investigation released this morning.

The ads are funded from the Chamber?s general account which, says Think Progress, solicits foreign funding. The Chamber?which ironically calls itself as the “U.S.” Chamber of Commerce?has opened many overseas offices and has founded and funded foreign chapters of the business group, including in Bahrain, Egypt, India and Abu Dhabi, according the report.

While many of these foreign operations include American businesses with interests overseas, the Chamber has also spearheaded an effort to raise money from foreign corporations, including ones controlled by foreign governments….

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce appears to rely heavily on fundraising from firms all over the world, including China, India, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Russia, and many other places. Of course, because the Chamber successfully lobbied to kill campaign finance reforms aimed at establishing transparency, the Chamber does not have to reveal any of the funding for its ad campaign.

Why would foreign corporations and interests want to defeat Democratic candidates? Because the Chamber has launched an intensive effort to persuade overseas interests that their profits would be threatened, says Think Progress.

The Chamber has repeatedly sent out issue alerts attacking Democratic efforts to encourage businesses to hire locally rather than outsource to foreign countries. The Chamber has also bitterly fought Democrats for opposing unfettered free trade deals. To galvanize foreign businesses, the Chamber has commissioned former Ambassador Frank Lavin?who served as the McCain-Palin Asia campaign director and has appeared on television multiple times recently saying a Democratic Congress is bad for business?to speak before various foreign Chamber affiliates to talk about the stakes for the 2010 midterm elections.

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Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on October 05, 2010 (boomark / email).