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Overview:
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Citizens United (CU)
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| Stated Purpose: |
| Reassert the traditional American values of limited government, free enterprise, strong families, and national sovereignty and security. |
Tax Status: |
| 501(c)(4) |
Political Orientation: |
| Republican |
Profile: |
September 2004 — Citizens United's Web site reads like a commercial promoting President Bush's re-election, a message that is reinforced by the group's paid media communications.
The front page of the group's Web site says, "The left has been attacking our President for months, on everything from tax cuts, to fighting the war on terror, to his service in the National Guard. Citizens United is fighting back." Elsewhere on the site, Citizens United President David Bossie complains that liberal financier George Soros "has declared war on President Bush and his positive agenda for America." Bossie promises to do everything within his power to "run counter-ads in support of the President."1
In May, Citizens United broadcast a television ad that satirically referred to presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry as a "man of the people," while ticking off the financial values of Kerry's assets.2
The group also is running a pair of commercials on its Web site, "webmercials" in Citizen United's parlance, that feature firefighters praising President Bush for his guidance on national security issues. The page that provides links to the commercials notes that the national firefighters union has endorsed Kerry, but argues that Bush "has secured more funding and support for America's firefighters and law enforcement officers than any other president."3
The organization also ran an ad in March 2003, narrated by former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.), which praised President Bush for invading Iraq. "Thank goodness we have a president with the courage to protect our country," Thompson said in the ad.4 That ad was produced by Alex Castellanos, a GOP media consultant who was responsible for a 2000 attack ad against Al Gore that flashed the word "Rats" for a split second while disparaging the vice president’s prescription drug proposals.5 6
Citizens United's recent messages were mild compared to those that the organization's principals produced in previous election seasons. While affiliated with a group called "Americans for Bush," Citizens United Chairman Floyd G. Brown helped create the "Willie Horton" ad that ran in the weeks preceding the 1988 election between George H.W. Bush and Gov. Michael Dukakis (D-Mass.) The ad blamed Dukakis for a furlough program that allowed Horton to spend a weekend out of jail during which he raped a woman.7
"When we're through, people are going to think that Willie Horton is Michael Dukakis' nephew," Brown told the Washington Post at the onset of that ad campaign.8
During the 1992 presidential campaign, Brown created an advertisement that offered viewers a chance to "get to know Bill Clinton the way Gennifer Flowers did" by making a $4.95 telephone call that would provide snippets of a taped conversation between Clinton and Flowers. Though Brown was with Citizens United at the time, it is unclear if Citizens United was behind the ad.9
Current Citizens United President Bossie pursued Clinton relentlessly throughout his administration. Early on, he wrote for "Clinton Watch," a Citizens United newsletter that probed Clinton's past. He went on to work for a Senate committee investigating the Whitewater matter, and then as the investigative coordinator of the House Government Reform Committee, which focused on Clinton's campaign fundraising and was criticized by Democrats for using unethical tactics. Bossie resigned after it was revealed that he had supervised the editing of exculpatory remarks from jailhouse tapes made by former Associate Attorney General Webster L. Hubbell. Bossie had pressed the committee to release the tapes.10 11
Based on Citizens United own Web site, it appears that at least a substantial part of the organization's efforts are devoted to influencing the outcome of the 2004 presidential election. If it were determined that the group's primary purpose was affecting the outcome of the election, the group could be in violation of the IRS prohibition against 501(c) groups devoting themselves primarily to electioneering activities.12
But Citizen United's own focus on electioneering has not prevented the group from questioning the legality of others groups' activities. In June 2004, Citizens United filed a complaint with the FEC claiming that commercials for Michael Moore's movie "Fahrenheit 911," a film that is critical of Bush, would violate the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act's prohibition against the broadcast of corporate communications mentioning candidates' names in the 60 days preceding a general election or the 30 days before a primary or convention.13
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| 1 |
Citizens United Web site. (Available at www.citizensunited.org. Accessed on May 21, 2004.) |
| 2 |
Citizens United Web site. (Available at www.citizensunited.org. Accessed on May 21, 2004.) |
| 3 |
Citizens United Web site. (Available at www.citizensunited.org. Accessed on May 21, 2004.) |
| 4 |
Citizens United Web site. (Available at www.citizensunited.org. Accessed on May 21, 2004.) |
| 5 |
Mark H. Rodeffer, "Must-See Argument Over War in Iraq," National Journal, March 3, 2003. |
| 6 |
Mark Z. Barabak, "Ad Will Blame Davis for Crisis Politics," Los Angeles Times, June 16, 2001. |
| 7 |
Maralee Schwartz and Lloyd Grove, "TV Ads to Depict Gov. Dukakis as Coddling Criminals," Washington Post, Sept. 4, 1988. |
| 8 |
Maralee Schwartz and Lloyd Grove, "TV Ads to Depict Gov. Dukakis as Coddling Criminals," Washington Post, Sept. 4, 1988. |
| 9 |
Judith Colp, "The GOP's own 'Dennis the Menace' New Attack Ads Target Clinton," Washington Times, July 10, 1992. |
| 10 |
Amy Keller and Jim VandeHei, "Bossie's Departure May Hurt GOP Pipeline to Starr's Team," Roll Call, May 11, 1998. |
| 11 |
Mark Lacey, "Dirt-Digging on Clinton Leaves Critic in a Hole," Los Angeles Times, May 7, 1998. |
| 12 |
John Francis Reilly and Barbara A. Braig Allen, "Political Campaign and Lobbying Activities of IRC 501(c)(4), (c)(5), and (c)(6) Organizations," Exempt Organizations-Technical Instruction Program for FY 2003, p. L-3. |
| 13 |
Jessica E. Vascellaro, "Movie Tests Campaign Rule; 'Fahrenheit 9/11 Might Run Afoul of Law, Group Says," Boston Globe, June 27, 2004. |
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