22: Friends & Allies

Applaud the efforts of third-party organizations to augment the traditional political party infrastructure while continuing the RNC's role in leading our Party forward.

Other Information:

The McCain-Feingold campaign finance law has hamstrung political parties at the national, state, and local levels, which has, in turn, led to a shift in relative importance among participants in the political environment. Third-party groups have flourished in the effort to fill the void left by McCain-Feingold's severe restrictions on political parties. As a result, outside organizations have flourished in the effort to fill this void. While we are pleased that recent court decisions have restored First Amendment rights of many Americans who wish to participate in the political process through non-party organizations, political candidates, and party committees have suffered by comparison and Washington has become increasingly polarized. Please see the Campaign Finance portion of this report for further discussion on this issue and our recommendations for how to improve it. Despite a disappointing 2012 election cycle for Republicans, the political and donor environment for friends and allied groups remains healthy. And while we applaud the efforts of these organizations to augment the traditional political party infrastructure, it is clear that the RNC has a central and critical role to play in leading our Party forward. Chairman Priebus is in a unique role of leadership for the Party at this critical time given the RNC's national infrastructure that will help Republicans forge a path to victory for a successful 2013, 2014, and 2016.

Stakeholder(s):

• Third Party Groups: On the political right, there are a multitude of effective third-party groups that we will refer to as "Friends and Allies" that serve as critical components of the Republican Party. These groups come in all shapes and sizes and range from advocacy organizations to think tanks to political action committees to SuperPACs to associations. Most of these friends and allies are legally organized as 527s, SuperPACs or 501(c) (4) organizations. The functions of the organizations vary as well; some focus on supporting or opposing particular candidates while others concentrate on particular policy issues of interest to that group's members. It is important to remember that these friends and allies are independent of the political party committees and campaigns and thus operate on their own, with their own funding, and with their own sets of priorities. The Republican Party should view these organizations as valuable additions to the public discourse, as educators and helpers in the work of persuading Americans to believe in our Party's principles, and as important conduits of our Republican messages and beliefs.

Objective(s):

1

Content