Americans for Prosperity in the 2012 Election

Americans for Prosperity' (AFP) is a group fronting special interests started by oil billionaire David Koch and Richard Fink (a member of the board of directors of Koch Industries). On May 30th, 2012, Politico reported that Americans For Prosperity, along with other conservative interest groups such as Crossroads GPS and the US Chamber of Commerce had pledged to spend at least a billion dollars influencing the 2012 election. Americans for Prosperity disclosed just under $40 million in outside spending during the 2012 election however, their total is likely much higher, as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, Americans for Prosperity does not have to report certain forms of spending. On August 13th, Mother Jones reported that Americans for Prosperity spent an estimated $45 million on ads to influence the 2012 presidential election, exceeding their disclosed spending total for the 2012 year. . They have also spent heavily to influence 2012 senate races, though the amount they have spent is more difficult to estimate. The Center for Media and Democracy estimates that Americans for Prosperity spent at least $66 million in 2011 and 2012 to influence the 2012 election.

Antistimulus Advertising
On April 27th, 2012, Americans for Prosperity began airing ads in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, and Virginia attacking Obama's 2009 stimulus. The ad attacks Obama for creating a stimulus plan that ostensibly sent money and jobs overseas instead of helping Americans. The ad specifically mentions solar plants in Mexico, Electric cars in Finland, and traffic lights in China. All three assertions are misleading: The solar company recieved stimulus money in the form of a loan, which will be paid back. The plant they created in Mexico was for a completely unrelated project The electric cars were created in Finland, but were created from parts manufactured in the United States, The streetlights were simply manufactured with foreign made components, some of which were made in China.

AFP's 27 Million Dollar ad buy
In their largest ad buy to date, Americans for Prosperity dumped $27 million dollars attacking President Obama in most key 2012 swing states, including Minnesota, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin. The ads began airing on August 8th, and vary in tone and content, but all three directly advocate for the election of a candidate other than Barack Obama. This form of expenditure is unusual for Americans for Prosperity, as they usually prefer to manufacture "issue" ads attacking candidates (see below for examples).

A One Term Proposition: This ad uses creative editing to make it appear as though Obama promised to decrease the national debt by the end of his first term "or it will be a one term proposition. The ad uses two separate videos of Obama, one from a speech discussing the deficit, the other from an interview on the Troubled Asset Relief Program. . The ad also confuses "the deficit" and "the debt."

Has President Obama Earned Your Vote?: This ad features dissatisfied Obama voters explaining why they will not vote for Obama in 2012. Americans for Prosperity insists that all the people in the ad are real voters, not actors. The ad does not directly attack Obama, though it blames him for layoffs and foreclosures. One speaker even volunteers that she thinks Obama is "a great person". The ad closes with the question "Has President Obama Earned Your Vote?" and concludes "It's time for a change."

Presidential Ad Buy Summary

 * Obama's Failure to Lead: July 29th, 2011: Not Reported
 * Obama's Green Giveaway: November 27th, 2011: $2.5 million
 * Obama Sacrifices Pawns for Politics: January 16th, 2012: $6.6 million
 * Wasteful Spending: April 26th, 2012: $6 million
 * Doing Fine: June 20th, 2012: $5.5 million
 * Not a Tax Increase: June 29th, 2012: $9 million
 * A One term Proposition: August 7th, 2012: $6.4 million
 * Has Obama Earned Your Vote: August 15th, 2012: $7 million
 * New Ideas: August 24th, 2012: $6 million
 * So Many Things: August 28th, 2012: $1.6 million
 * We Must Replace President Obama: August 28th, 2012: $6.2 million
 * New Ideas (Web): August 30th, 2012: $400,000
 * So Many Things (Web): $200,000
 * Obama's Failing Agenda: September 24th, 2012: $13 million
 * We Stand With Coal: October 25th, 2012: $160,602
 * Voted For(rebuy): November 1st, 2012: $1.7 million
 * Replace(rebuy): November 1st, 2012: $1.7 million

Attack Ads Against Tammy Baldwin
Americans for Prosperity spent more money attacking Tammy Baldwin than any other U.S. Senate Candidate. Baldwin was the Democratic nominee to fill Herb Cole's senate seat in Wisconsin. The Center for Media and Democracy estimates that they spent at least $2.3 million on anti-Baldwin attack ads in 2012.

Their attack ads began On June 18th, the first subtly invoked Scott Walker's recent victory in the 2012 recall election, "After a year of struggle" the ad says, "Wisconsin has a message for Washington Politicians: Stop the wasteful spending that's bankrupting our future." The ad goes on to attack Baldwin for supporting Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's agenda "93% of the time." Again apparently referencing Walker's victory (and hearkening back to Ronald Reagan's classic "Morning in America" ads), the ad says, "Its a new day in Wisconsin and Wisconsin is moving forward. Tell Tammy Baldwin, hard-working taxpayers can't afford more wasteful spending." The ad cost about $400,000 to produce and air in Wisconsin.

On August 16th of 2012, AFP aired a similar ad attacking Baldwin, though this one featured disgruntled Wisconsin voters instead of a narrator. The ad closes by instructing viewers to "Call Tammy Baldwin and tell her to stop wasteful spending." The cost of this ad buy is currently unreported.

Wisconsin Senate Ad Buy Summary
 * Wisconsin Moving Forward: June 16th, 2012: $400,000
 * Tammy Baldwin Stop Wasteful Spending: August 22nd, 2012: $900,000 (Estimated, Part of a $2.7 million dollar ad buy)
 * Stop Wasteful Spending (rebuy): $1 million

Attack Ads Against Other Senate Candidates
Americans for Prosperity also targeted Joe Donnelly in Indiana, Shelly Berkley in Nevada, and Tim Kaine in Virginia. In each case, the ads targeted a Democratic candidate for US Senate for perceived excesses in Government spending.

Indiana Ad Buy Summary
 * Washington Style Reform: August 29th, 2012: $700,000

Nevada Ad Buy Summary
 * Nevada Taxpayers First: August 22nd, 2012: $900,000 (Estimate, part of $2.7 million dollar buy)

Virginia Ad Buy Summary
 * Smarter Spending, Not Higher Taxes: August 22nd, 2012: $900,000 (estimate, part of $2.7 million dollar buy)