2012 GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney (Pic by Gage Skidmore, via Flickr)
“You know what makes Barack Obama happy? Newt Gingrich,” says an ad by Restore our Future, a group that supports GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
PolitiFact reported Wednesday: “A pro-Mitt Romney ‘Super PAC’ is flexing its muscles in the Republican race for president, telling conservative voters not to fall for Barack Obama’s plan to hand Newt Gingrich the GOP nomination. The group, called Restore our Future, is running television ads in Iowa and Florida.”
The site added: “Super PACs aren’t formally affiliated with campaigns, but they can still spend money to try to influence elections, and they don’t face the same disclosure requirements as official campaigns.”
“Super PACs are a new kind of political action committee created in July 2010 following the outcome of a federal court case,” writes Open Secrets, adding: “Super PACs may raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, associations and individuals, then spend unlimited sums to overtly advocate for or against political candidates.”
Restore our Future had raised more than $12 million as of June, and spent more than $2.5 million in media buys and direct mail expenditures opposing Newt Gingrich. Restore has paid Arena Communications, which includes among its clients the Republican Party of Florida and Associated Builders and Contractors, which supports a GOP bill to preempt local anti-wage theft ordinances.
The Washington Post reported this week that Gingrich and Romney are tied for the GOP 2012 presidential nomination, and reports Thursday that Gingrich blames Romney for his drop in the polls.
Restore our Future’s ad also states that Gingrich was fined $300,000 by Congress for ethics violations and that he teamed up with Democrats on global warming:
PolitiFact checked these two claims made about Romney in the ad and “Both turn out to be True.”
Another Restore ad also targets Gingrich “for supporting amnesty for illegal” immigrants and Rick Perry, GOP presidential candidate and governor of Texas, “who gave illegals in-state tuition.”
