American Future Fund

American Future Fund, according to an opinion piece in the conservative New Republic, was "founded by long-time Republican operatives Alex N. Vogeland his wife, Jill Holtzman Vogel, who together run the consulting agency Holtzman Vogel. The couple is joined by Republican pollster Jan Van Lohuizen, who previously worked for George W. Bush. The president of the group, Nicole Schlinger, is the former executive director of the Iowa Republican Party. ... This group is geared toward helping Republicans in congressional races, allowing others to focus on the presidential election. So far, their activities have included an extensive campaign ad against the Democratic contender in a Minnesota senatorial election, as well as some suspiciously timed polling in Louisiana that appears to have been coordinated with Freedom's Watch. It's difficult to track major donors, as their anonymity is a major bonus of 501(c)4 status." [1]. According to NPR, a large number of AFF's leadership were members of Mitt Romney's 2008 failed campaign for president.

Alex Vogel is one of the founders of the American Future Fund

Jill Vogel is the founders of the American Future Fund

Funding

The AFF has not publicly revealed its funders because the tax code does not require it to do so. However, Iowa businessmen Bruce Rastetter, CEO of the major ethanol-producing company Hawkeye Energy Holding, has admitted to providing some of the startup funds for the organization.

In 2008, its founding year, AFF is alleged to have receive $7.5 million in donations. In the 2010 election cycle, AFF admitted to spending $25 million.

Political Activity

2008

In 2008, paid for advertising supporting Minnesota Republican Senator Norm Coleman, who at the time was the co-chair of the Senate Biofuels caucus. In the same year, the group released a radio advertisement criticizing the Indy Racing League for its decision to use Brazilian sugar-based ethanol for its cars.

2010

In the 2010 election cycle directed its efforts at 14 "liberal" politicians that sat on committees with jurisdiction over energy and agricultural policy.

AFF has also actively campaigned vigorously against Obama's health care reforms. It created several ads targeting the bill, many of included factual inaccuracies.

In total, AFF spent over 26 million dollars in 2010 According to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, 7.3 million was spent advocating for the "election or defeat of candidates for federal office"

The American Action Network took at least 4.5 million dollars from PhRMA in 2010.

2012

AFF was very active in the early part of the 2012 election cycle, stating that "Conservative and free market principles will be under direct attack in America" . On January 23rd, they ran "The Real State of the Union", an attack ad that aired just before Barack Obama's actual state of the union address. . The ad attack Obama for failing to cut the deficit and increase the supply of renewable energy, despite the fact that both were largely the fault of republicans in congress. A second ad, which aired in February, attacked Obama, claiming that "His White House is Full of Wall Street Bankers" . Several news sources including Factcheck.org have pointed out that the ad greatly exaggerates the number and imporance of Wall street bankers in the Obama White House.

Leadership

Sandra Greiner, a Republican state legislator in Iowa and farmer, is the current president of the AFF.

The following individuals have held leadership positions within the AFF:

• Nicole Schlinger
• Tim Albrecht
• Lisa Lisker
• Jan Van Lohuizen
• Ed Tobin
• Ben Ginsberg
• Larry McCarthy
• Phil Musser

External links

• Cara Parks, Let the Attack Ads Roll! Your guide to the shady 527s who will be playing a major role in this year's presidential campaign, The New Republic, June 12, 2008.
• Will Evans, Profile: American Future Fund, NPR, August 20, 2008
• Campaign Cash: American Future Fund, Washington Post, 2010