The US Chamber in the news - October 1

Severing ties with U.S. Chamber of Commerce
The Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce is “not a part” of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and severed ties, in part, due to the U.S. Chamber’s denial and obstructionism on climate change, the Seattle Chamber’s CEO Maud Daudon said Friday. “What is the CEO of the chamber doing up here?  I’m here because at the chamber, we cannot envision a future in global competitiveness without environmental sustainability,” Daudon told a Washington Conservation Voters breakfast. (Seattle Post Intelligence)

Chamber of Commerce launches voter mobilization effort
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has spent tens of millions of dollars on television ads to help boost Republican congressional candidates, launched an extensive effort on Monday to mobilize voters. The pro-business lobbying group unveiled VoteForJobs2012.com, a website designed to educate voters and get them to the polls. The site will include voter registration forms, absentee ballots and polling place locators. It also will include information on House and Senate races and a comparison of the candidates on the issues. The website is part of the Chamber's effort to get out the vote and comes in addition to its wave of television advertising.  (Fox News)

Outside money pours into Senate races
The ads have hit hard: In one, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown is slammed as an out-of-touch politician who saddled his state's manufacturers with higher taxes by voting for President Obama's health care law. In another, he is savaged for his "failed record on energy." And all but roughly $600,000 of the anti-Brown advertising has come from groups, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Karl Rove-backed Crossroads GPS, that don't have to disclose their donors' identities. "Having a pro-business majority in the House and Senate will help economic growth," said Scott Reed, a top political strategist with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is currently advertising in nine closely contested Senate races. It plans to spend $50 million on presidential and congressional elections by Nov. 6.  (USA Today)

US Chamber of Commerce spends big on California GOP candidates
Adding to the stakes in hotly contested congressional races in California, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Friday launched an advertising blitz to help at least eight Republican candidates. The chamber said it has bought advertising time on broadcast or cable TV stations to tell voters "where their candidates stand on policies that will advance job growth and investment."  It did not disclose the amounts but others keeping tabs on ad purchases estimated the total at $2.8 million… Democrats blasted  the chamber, which is not required to disclose donors to the ad campaign. "This confirms what we've always known was a certainty -- that outside GOP money would flood the Golden State given the sheer number of Democratic pickup opportunities," said Andy Stone, spokesman for the House Majority PAC, a Democratic fund-raising group. (Los Angeles Times)   

Pa’s State Attorney General race will take lots of moola
Money will play a big role in determining who will be Pennsylvania's next attorney general, though it won't all come from the two candidates seeking the office… Because the state does not have the same limits on campaign spending as exist at the federal level, groups like the RSLC can pour as much money as they want into statewide races as long as they disclose the source of the ads, Baldino said… Other large contributors include Philadelphia-based Comcast Corp., the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and several large energy and pharmaceutical companies.  (Pocono Record)

 "Parent power" film stirs hopes of education reform activists
Private foundations, nonprofit advocacy groups and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have pumped more than $2 million into advocacy efforts tied to "Won't Back Down," including 30-second ads, promotional bookmarks, websites, private screenings and a six-month, cross-country discussion tour that will keep the film in circulation long after it leaves theaters. Their goal: To attract new foot soldiers who will help them fight for legislation that allows parents to seize control of local schools, as dramatized in the film; eliminates tenure protections for veteran teachers; and opens the door for more competition to neighborhood schools in the form of charters, which are publicly funded but privately run…The most enduring campaign linked to the film may be the six-month "Breaking the Monopoly of Mediocrity" tour arranged by the Institute for a Competitive Workforce, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. (Chicago Tribune)

Fla’s Mack remains on the attack
Republican Connie Mack IV is shouldering the burden of his party's control of the U.S. Senate, you wouldn't have known it last week as he finished a six-day bus tour of 17 cities in North and Central Florida…. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is spending $2 million on ads this week, Mack said. American Crossroads, a super PAC founded by Republican political strategist Karl Rove, announced it's spending $1.8 million in Florida on a television ad hitting Nelson's record on Medicare. Time is running out, however, with Washington pundits losing interest in what they once viewed as a competitive race. Jennifer Duffy, who tracks U.S. Senate races for the Cook Political Report, wrote in the National Journal last week that the chances of Republicans taking Senate seats from Democrats in Missouri, Ohio and Florida are "remote, at best." (Tampa Bay Times)