This blog continues the discussion that we began with Epic Journey: The 2008 Elections and American Politics (Rowman and Littlefield, 2009).The latest book in this series is Divided We Stand: The 2020 Elections and American Politics.
A super PAC opposed to Donald Trump plans to launch a new round of advertising this week ahead of Super Tuesday. The commercials by Our Principles PAC will run nationally on Fox News and CNN, said Katie Packer, who runs the political committee. She would not disclose the size of the buy, which will feature footage of the real-estate magnate praising Democrats and President Obama's 2009 stimulus package.
The advertising is the latest attempt by the group to dislodge the Republican front-runner and cast him as a "conservative of convenience." Our Principles PAC and the anti-tax Club for Growth are the only outside groups not closely aligned with candidates that have sought to confront Trump, who is widely distrusted by the GOP's establishment class.
In a memo released earlier this week, Packer implored fellow Republicans to at least try to tackle Trump. "No one has stopped him because no one has really tried," she wrote, noting that only about 9% of the $215 million spent on ads and voter contacts in the White House contest so far has targeted the New York billionaire.
Recently filed election reports show virtually all of the group's funding in January came from Marlene Ricketts, the wife of TD Ameritrade founder J. Joe Ricketts, a longtime Republican donor and activist. The family owns the Chicago Cubs.
