True to form, the current crop of potential GOP presidential candidates for president have figured out how to get around complying with campaign finance law.
WASHINGTON — Six prominent Republicans considering challenging President Obama in 2012 have raised millions in campaign accounts that allow them to get around federal campaign laws that limit presidential fundraising.
By law, presidential contenders cannot collect money for the race until they establish an exploratory or a presidential fundraising committee.
They, as plenty of candidates before them, have established PACs that can solicit funds and pay for the not-yet-really-a-campaign campaigns.
The six have used their PACS to pay for activities such as political consulting and travel that can advance their White House ambitions. They are Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, former House speaker Newt Gingrich, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
Campaign-finance watchdogs, such as Paul Ryan of the Campaign Legal Center, say the activity skirts the intent of presidential fundraising accounts, which have stricter contribution limits. Individuals can donate up to $10,000 over a two-year election cycle to a federal PAC, but no more than $4,800 to a presidential campaign....
“Contribution limits exist to reduce the threat of corruption,” Ryan said. “These slush funds that potential presidential candidates are setting up violate at the very least the spirit of those ... limits.”
Two of them, Barbour and Romney, set up accounts in states that allow corporate donations to their PACs, again skirting the federal laws that prohibit corporate donations directly to candidates. Ostensibly, PACs are set up to help fund other candidates, but apparently not with this crop. They've used a very small portion, about 10% in total, of the PAC money to donate to federal candidates this cycle.
(H/T Think Progress)