How Deceptive Candidate PACs Make Money & Build Lists

Think twice before you sign the next petition you see.

You’re seen the ads and websites to draft political candidates. They bear a photo of the political personality or maybe even a whole website.

Here’s one example : DraftNext2014.com — it’s a website for the Draft Newt PAC; the treasurer is an attorney named Dan Backer, who has a company called DB Strategies. Backer is the treasurer for over 30 different PACs, groups and candidates, including the very larger group The TeaParty.net Leadership Fund and the recent campaign of Rep. Steve Stockman.

Here’s the idea : create a ‘Draft Somebody’ and get people to ‘sign the petition’ in order to build a list and get donations. And it works.

This was done without the consent of Newt Gingrich. In fact, he his lawyers sent the group a Cease and Desist:

“He is not running for United States Senate and will not run for Senate at any time in the future,” McKenna Long & Aldridge attorney Stefan Passantino wrote to the group last week.

“We hereby demand that you cease and desist from the unauthorized use of Speaker Gingrich’s name or likeness and that you further cease and desist from any activity implying or insinuating that your group is in any way authorized by, or affiliated with, Speaker Gingrich or his organizations,” Passantino wrote.

Attorney Dan Backer, who is serving as the treasurer for Draft Newt, said that he has received Passantino’s letter — and that he forwarded the 8,400 signatures that Draft Newt had received.

He added that the Draft Newt PAC has now collected more than 10,000 signatures encouraging the former House Speaker to run for Senate.

They didn’t cease or desist. The group still exists. The website is still live. Draft Newt PAC isn’t huge but it did raise over $20,000 in 2013.

Where did the money go? Well, not to Newt, that’s for sure. Most of it went to fundraising and administration. Dan Backer’s company got $3,000 of the $20,000.

Not ALL of it — $125 of the $20,000+ raised went to candidates. Five donations of $25 whole American dollars each. And look — Rep. Steve Stockman is one of those who took in the $25 donations.

DEVELOPING…