Rove’s Dark Money Group Targets 5 Senate Dems

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Crossroads GPS, the shadowy outside spending group connected to Karl Rove, has rolled out the latest installment of its multi-million dollar ad blitz, unveiling a television campaign attacking five Democratic senators.

The group, which announced a $20 million ad campaign focused on spending and the national debt last month, spent $5 million on the first phase of the campaign last month; now it’s dropping $7 million on ads targeting Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Bill Nelson of Florida, and Jon Tester of Montana (via The Ticket).

The ads attack the lawmakers for voting for “sky-rocking debt, the failed stimulus, and Obamacare.” Here’s the ad that’s running in Florida:

The group is also running national ads in 11 states that feature a woman tossing and turning in bed at 3:01 a.m. She states that that while she supported Obama in 2008 because “he spoke so beautifully,” she’s now worried about her parents, children, and the national debt. Here’s the ad:

And just think—there’s still nearly 16 months until the election!

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

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Readers also told us to just give it to you straight when we need to ask for your support, and seeing how matter-of-factly explaining our inner workings, our challenges and finances, can bring more of you in has been a real silver lining. So our online membership lead, Brian, lays it all out for you in his personal, insider account (that literally puts his skin in the game!) of how urgent things are right now.

The upshot: Being able to rally $253,000 in donations over these next few weeks is vitally important simply because it is the number that keeps us right on track, helping make sure we don't end up with a bigger gap than can be filled again, helping us avoid any significant (and knowable) cash-flow crunches for now. We used to be more nonchalant about coming up short this time of year, thinking we can make it by the time June rolls around. Not anymore.

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