American Commitment

American Commitment is a conservative, right-wing 501(c)4 non-profit organization led by Phil Kerpen, former VP at Americans for Prosperity. Their website says the organization's mission is "restoring and protecting the American Commitment to free markets, economic growth, Constitutionally-limited government, property rights, and individual freedom."

American Commitment received a grant of $1.6 million from the Center to Protect Patient Rights in 2012.

Organizational Websites
Aside from their own websites, American Commitment runs a slue of other websites which push for conservative policy making. NoMandateTax.com is a website dedicated to the opposition of the Affordable Care Act. They have similar pages for the Keystone Pipeline Project keystonexlnow.com

American Commitment also runs a website which petitions against criticisms of [ALEC]. American Commitment claims that companies who have withdrawn from ALEC, such as Walmart and Amazon, did so because they had been bullied. The organization has a petition that asks companies to stand with ALEC and individual to oppose the anti-ALEC bullying. The website is ALECPetition.com

Campaign Spending
In 2012, American Commitment began running ads for state-level elections.

Florida Senate Race 2012
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, ran for reelection in 2012. During the campaign, American Commitment ran ads against Nelson in Florida attacking his support for the Affordable Care Act, but because they are a 501(c)4 non-profit, they do not have to disclose their donors. Politifact rated two claims in the video "mostly false", two were rated "false", and one was rated "pants on fire".

Ohio Senate Race 2012
U.S. Sen.Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, ran for reelection in 2012. During the campaign, American Commitment ran against Brown in Ohio, and Brown responded to the ads' claims on his website.

Wisconsin Senate Race 2012
U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, ran for U.S. Senate in 2012. During the campaign, American Commitment ran ads in Wisconsin attacking Baldwin on her support for the Affordable Care Act and the Stimulus bill. The ad features a middle-aged man saying: "we'll have to borrow money from China to pay for those."

New Mexico Senate Race 2012
U.S. Rep. Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico, ran for U.S. Senate in 2012. American Commitment ran ads against him in New Mexico.

North Dakota Senate Race 2012
Heidi Heitkamp ran for the open U.S. Senate seat in North Dakota against U.S. Rep. Rick Berg, R-North Dakota. American Commitment ran ads against her in North Dakota.

West Virginia Senate Race 2012
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin ran for reelection in 2012. He won his seat in a 2010 special election when Sen. Robert Byrd, D-West Virginia, died in office at the age of 92. American Commitment's ad against Manchin claims that President Obama is waging a "war on coal" and they ask rhetorically, "Senator Joe Manchin may vote right, but will he lead others to stand up to Obama?"

Nevada Senate Race 2012
U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nevada, ran for Senate in 2012. American Commitment ran ads against her in Nevada.

Links to the American Legislative Exchange Council
In May 2012, American Commitment launched a petition urging corporate members of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) to continue their membership with the controversial organization. As of July 20, 2012, 30 corporations and four non-profits -- for a total of 34 public sector members -- have publicly announced that they are cutting ties with ALEC because of mounting public opposition to the organization's controversial "model" bills.

Leadership
Phil Kerpen is the president and founder of American Commitment. Kerpen is a former policy and legislative strategist at Americans for Prosperity and has previously worked at Club for Growth. He is chairman of the Internet Freedom Coalition and a Fox News opinion columnist.

Related SourceWatch Articles

 * Americans for Prosperity
 * American Legislative Exchange Council

External Articles

 * Rachel Marcus, Center for Public Integrity, Nonprofit profile: American Commitment, Consider the Source, August 2, 2012.