Thread: Billionaires silent on immigration after big push

Billionaires silent on immigration after big push

Their absence comes as Senate Republican candidates in battleground states launch attack ads. | AP Photos

By ANNA PALMER | 8/21/14 5:03 AM EDT Updated: 8/21/14 3:10 PM EDT

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, billionaire Michael Bloomberg and Citigroup exec Carlos Gutierrez gave immigration reform firepower last year when they lent their money or names to the cause.

But roughly two months before Election Day, the three groups the business titans helped launch are all but silent on the campaign trail. None of the three has purchased airtime for ads on immigration reform this fall.

Their virtual absence comes as Senate Republican candidates in battleground states are launching attack ads against Democrats accusing them of supporting “amnesty,” leaving pro-immigration reform candidates even more vulnerable and immigration reform even less likely to happen.

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Gutierrez’s group, Republicans for Immigration Reform, has no plans to launch a counteroffensive. Despite being billed as the GOP rainmaker on immigration reform, the group has struggled to make inroads with big GOP donors.

“With the problem at the border and the president’s rhetoric on executive action have totally poisoned the well,” said Charlie Spies, who helped organized Republicans for Immigration Reform. “I don’t think anybody believes anything can happen this year.”

They aren’t alone. While American Action Network was heavily invested in pushing immigration reform when legislation was under discussion in the Senate, the multi-issue conservative group isn’t active on the ground or on TV trying to make an example of House Republicans who have blocked similar efforts in that chamber.

Bloomberg’s Partnership for a New American Economy also has no plans for major network or cable TV ad buys on immigration reform.

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Zuckerberg’s FWD.us could go up with ads later this fall, but doesn’t have any time reserved as of yet.

Representatives from the groups cite a variety of reasons for not playing an active role in the election — everything from immigration reform not being a top issue this cycle to trying to save limited resources for when the legislative environment in Congress becomes better.

Still, it’s a stark contrast from earlier this year when immigration groups, GOP operatives, unions and others were putting a full-court press on House Republicans with ads, private meetings and in district lobbying to engage on the issue.

Some groups fed up with Republicans became aggressive last year. Kica Matos, a spokeswoman for the Fair Immigration Reform Movement said earlier this year that it was time to “switch tactics from persuasion to punishment.”

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Many hoped the big outside groups would pick up that mantle.

Sill, Republicans have moved increasingly to the right on the issue of immigration, following the dramatic surge of illegal immigrants on the Texas border. And they aren’t afraid to show it. Attack ads have aired in Arkansas, Michigan and New Hampshire — key states for which party will control the Senate. Failed Alaska tea party Republican Senate candidate Joe Miller, who was vying to become the GOP nominee, went so far as to send out a mailer that depicted illegal immigrants as gang members.

President Barack Obama has signaled he will use executive actions regarding immigration reform in mid-September. When he does, it’s expected to incite the barrage of criticism on the campaign trail from Republicans even more.

The Latino Victory Project is trying to provide a backstop for Obama. The group, which was supported by actress Eva Longoria and Democratic megadonor Henry Muñoz, is launching cable TV ads in English and Spanish to run in Washington through the beginning of September that criticize House Republican leadership’s failure to act on immigration reform. The group also plans to run digital ads in Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King’s district.

Not everyone is waving the white flag.

Latino Victory Project’s Cristobal Alex said they decided to go up with the ads because there was a “vacuum” on the pro-immigration reform side, and expects to do another round of ads once Obama takes executive action on the issue.

He praised the other pro-immigration groups activity so far, but said it would be “unfortunate if they pulled back at this moment.”

The Service Employees International Union has also been running radio ads in Colorado, California and Nevada focused on Latino voters and trying to hold Republicans accountable for blocking immigration reform.

There’s little expectation that other pro-reform groups will join the Latino Victory Project anytime soon.

“We’re not a party committee on spending,” said one operative involved with setting strategy. “We have helped people on both sides of the aisle before who were getting pounded.”

Another top operative said that while they haven’t cut ads proactively, if the opposition were to go after Republican lawmakers who have supported immigration reform like Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) or Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on the issue they would come out in force.

Consultants and supporters of the groups say that they continue to be engaged, but attacking House GOP leadership over immigration reform is counterproductive.

It’s a stark contrast to the aggressive rollout groups like Gutierrez’s Republicans for Immigration Reform and Zuckerberg’s FWD.us enjoyed last year.

Gutierrez, a Cuban immigrant and a veteran of the immigration wars having served as President George W. Bush’s top official on the issue, was billed as the GOP’s immigration reform rainmaker.

Despite being able to raise unlimited money, Republicans for Immigration Reform has struggled to meet early fundraising expectations. In part, the group had a hard time just as many GOP outside groups did following the disappointing 2012 election results and with some large donors preferring to give to groups set up so their contributions remain undisclosed.

During the heat of the immigration fight in late 2013, the group did put out a full-page newspaper ad, robocalls and some polling.

Gutierrez’s group has brought in just $308,000 this cycle, spending the majority of that haul on communications and fundraising consulting fees and legal bills. It has not done an ad buy in 2014 or put any money toward independent expenditures, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Silicon Valley-backed FWD.us has had no problem bringing in millions of dollars and over the past year has done the majority of paid media in support of immigration reform, cutting national ads and district specific ads to support lawmakers like Ellmers in the primary.

The group is not up with any TV ads right now.

FWD.us President Joe Green said the group has used paid media to highlight why immigration reform is needed.

“Since we started, we have stood by our champions and used paid media as a way to tell the stories that highlight why we need immigration reform,” Green said. “As we have in the past, we will continue in the future to use a variety of tactics including ads to back up our champions and persuade lawmakers to finally fix our broken immigration system.”

The conservative-backed American Action Network and Bloomberg’s Partnership for a New American Economy are also fairly quiet on immigration reform this fall.

American Action Network’s Dan Conston defended the group’s activity supporting immigration reform.

“During the heat of the debate, AAN was incredibly engaged in trying to pass immigration reform, from air cover on TV to a ground game in districts to releasing polling, policy studies and more,” Conston said in an email, noting the group spent $1 million on efforts that included five ad buys, grass tops outreach in 20 districts last August and releasing polls showing a way forward for passing reform in the House.

AAN did “everything they could to support immigration reform but it simply doesn’t appear realistic this year,” said a source close to the group. “They’re not about to attack or pressure House leaders, but rather be there to support it if a real chance for immigration reform reemerges.”

The Partnership for a New American Economy is doing selective ads featuring the role immigrants play in the high tech and agribusiness sectors in D.C., taxi cabs and at Washington Dulles International and Reagan National airports. The group is also doing digital ads in movie theaters, state fairs and rodeos in 16 districts.

Jeremy Robbins said the group is looking to do spots where they think it will be useful, but are not focused on specific races or taking on any lawmakers.

“Our strategy is not attacking opponents,” Robbins said. “We will become over the next couple of years targeted on specific races.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/0...#ixzz3B3syOZ9a

When loudmouths become quiet, be aware that a flank attack is being planned. Hoarders of money, as hoarders of anything, will not give up or quit easily.