The Americans Elect Threat
President Obama's re-election team is keeping a wary eye on a group pledging to put an independent ticket on the ballot in next year's elections, top Democratic strategists hinted Tuesday.
In a meeting with reporters, Obama campaign manager Jim Messina and top strategist David Axelrod said they expected the group, Americans Elect, to be on the ballot in most states next year. And though the group says it will use the most open, democratic process possible to select a nominee, Obama's campaign is questioning both their means and motives.
Americans Elect will allow any registered voter to cast a ballot in an online national primary. But those candidates must be approved by a Candidate Certification Committee, which will judge each applicant's capability of performing the duties of office. That got the Obama campaign's attention.
"You have to get approved by a council of elders deal," Messina told reporters Tuesday. Added Axelrod: "It's like uber-democracy meets backroom bosses. An amalgam of both."
The problem for the Obama campaign could get very real, very quickly. If Americans Elect comes up with a well-known, well-financed candidate, they have the potential to throw a major monkey wrench in both parties' plans. The group has already gained ballot access in ten states, including in swing states like Colorado, Florida, Michigan and Ohio.
"What's clear is they will be on the ballot in most states," Messina said. "And that's just something we have to deal with."
Liberal bloggers have raised questions about the sources of the group's money. They've already raised $22 million, according to the Washington Post, though because the group is organized under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Service code, they don't have to disclose the identities of their donors. New York Times columnist Tom Friedman has reported the group has close ties to, and receives financial support from, the hedge fund industry. Salon's Justin Elliott last week detailed many of those ties, along with complaints some outside observers have over the Candidate Certification Committee.
The last time the mood of the country was as sour as it is today, a third-party candidate took 19 percent of the vote and, in the process, cost an incumbent president his job. Obama's team is aware of the threat, and they have no interest in falling prey to the same fate George H.W. Bush suffered at Ross Perot's hands in 1992.
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