Peter H. Stone reports at iWatch News:
Citizens for a Greater America, a group newly launched by allies of GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry, has organized under IRS rules as a 501(c)(4) permitting donors to give unlimited contributions and remain secret.
The mission of the new group is officially to “promote conservative leadership and values and to educate the public and policy makers about conservative issues and principles,” according to a fact sheet obtained by iWatch News from a Perry fundraiser.
The fundraiser, who also has been raising money for the Super PAC backing Perry, Make Us Great Again, said he received the fact sheet from Mike Toomey, a founder of the PAC. The fundraiser was seeking information about whether Make Us Great Again had a 501(c)(4) arm for people who wanted to remain anonymous.
Such secretive donations to help federal candidates have mushroomed since the January 2010 Supreme Court ruling that gutted campaign finance restrictions.
Toomey, a high-powered Austin lobbyist who used to be Perry’s chief of staff, in July co-founded Make Us Great Again, which also can accept unlimited donations but has to disclose its donors names publicly. Toomey's group hopes to raise $55 million, according to an MSNBC report
