Foundation for a Secure and Prosperous America

The Foundation for a Secure and Prosperous America (FSPA) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation that "operates independently" from the 2008 presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), "but was set up and financed by his supporters seeking to help him as much as possible up to the limits of the law," Jim Rutenberg and David D. Kirkpatrick wrote November 12, 2007, in the New York Times.

The Foundation was "started by Rick Reed, whose firm helped produce the 2004 Swift Boat advertisements that questioned Senator John Kerry's war record in a way that Democrats, and even McCain, said was unfair — but, also, in a way that both sides agree did great damage to Kerry's presidential campaign. Reed is also a long-time strategist for McCain, working for his 2000 presidential campaign and briefly for his 2008 campaign, before it ran short on money and trimmed its operations," Rutenberg and Kirkpatrick wrote.

The Foundation has begun "running a television commercial urging the citizens of South Carolina to tell Congress to pass" the Wounded Warriors Act, "legislation intended to improve health care for veterans." "The initial spending on the commercial, according to the group, is modest — commercials on the Fox News Channel in South Carolina only — but it represents the first trickle in a flood of hundreds of millions of dollars that are expected to pour from all sides into groups reminiscent of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth of 2004, built to influence voting outside of campaign law limitations. The amount could swamp the record-breaking tens of millions that the top candidates are raising for their own, closely regulated campaign accounts. ...

"Reed, however, said his group might have to disclose the names of its donors if it moved on to expressly advocated the election of the candidate it deemed best suited to its cause. He said that was something they would consider but were not planning. But, he added, McCain would be worthy of such an action," Rutenberg and Kirkpatrick wrote.

"The commercial also features complimentary images of Senator Lindsay Graham, Republican of South Carolina, and Representative John Shadegg, Republican of Arizona, both of whom are up for re-election, as well as negative portrayals of Democrats like Representative David Obey of Wisconsin, whose constituents may also soon see the commercial in their states, Reed said," Rutenberg and Kirkpatrick wrote.

"McCain has crusaded for years against just this sort of unencumbered political spending and has publicly called upon the foundation to stop the advertisement, a request competitors say seems half-hearted and the group's leader has ignored.

"Thanks to a recent decision by the Supreme Court, most of these groups, including the McCain-friendly foundation, will be able to operate with even less public disclosure than such entities did in 2004," Rutenberg and Kirkpatrick wrote.

Donations
Donations can be made online to the Foundation are through RapidDonation.com or mailed "to the attention of J. Smith at 201 N. Union St. Suite 200 Alexandria, VA 22314."

"Contributions to FSPA are not deductible as charitable contributions. There is no limit on the amount that can be contributed, and there is no public disclosure under the tax rules of the identity of donors."

Media
The "J. Smith" identified as the donations' contact for the Foundation is affiliated with the Republican public relations firm Stevens Reed Curcio & Potholm.

Contact information
URL: http://www.secureandprosperous.com/

Related SourceWatch articles

 * soft money

External articles

 * Jim Kuhnhenn and Liz Sidoti, "McCain Gets Outside Help As Polls Rise," Associated Press (Washington Times; San Francisco Chronicle), November 9, 2007.