Correct The Record

In the face of a well-oiled political machine bent on disseminating false information about him to the media, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders did what he does best: he sniffed and turned to the moral of the story.

As Sanders explains in an interview for this week’s cover story, “that’s what negative campaigning is all about,” he says in response to an attack on him by a Hillary Clinton-affiliated super PAC, Correct the Record.

Surrogates for Hillary Clinton unleashed a barrage of attacks on Bernie Sanders this week, connecting him to the socialist dictatorial president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, in opposition research supplied to a reporter. Sanders told TIME that Vermont was the sixth state to acquire subsidised Venezuelan heating oil under a deal he arranged with the Venezuelan government.
In Sanders’ perspective, it’s “preposterous” to link that to all of Chavez’s views or deeds. This is the kind of politics I’m trying to change, I think it’s quite bad.”

Candidates who don’t play politics like their rivals are likely to provide this response. Sanders abhors the dominant brand, which he describes as “barbed attacks, research supplied to favoured reporters in private emails, well-funded research machines”. Only a small crew at his headquarters in Vermont has the manpower to dig up dirt on his rivals, so he lacks the resources to do so. Sanders doesn’t know how to use this tactic. “Soap opera,” Sanders mocks, dismissively.

His would be a losing position in a conventional election year. There is no such thing as a “normal” year when it comes to politics. As a result of his above-the-belt strategy, Sanders has drawn crowds as large as 28,000 in Oregon and 11,000 in Arizona, reflecting the integrity of the movement he is working to establish. Bernie Sanders’ “political revolution”—a far-left programme that includes universal healthcare, free tuition at public colleges, a $15 minimum salary, and thorough campaign finance reform—doesn’t dwell on personal slights long.

Dozens of thousands of people have asked Bernie Sanders for advice on how to get involved in his campaign, from setting up tables at farmers’ markets to canvassing door-to-door. New Hampshire palliative care doctor Bob Friedlander and Tennessee food truck owner Corbin Trent are just two of the many Bernie Sanders supporters who have given up their jobs to devote themselves to the campaign.

There is a consensus that Sanders’ credentials as a longtime activist and his progressive vision of universal healthcare and a trillion-dollar jobs programme appeal to these voters.
If he fails to break the stranglehold of Hillary Clinton on the African-American vote, most experts believe that Sanders’ cause is doomed to fail.

Bernie Sanders claims that he is engaged in this fight to put Washington’s interests in jeopardy. An issue-based campaign to rally millions of people is at the heart of his vision. The billionaires’ “greed is what we’re against,” he tells TIME. As a result, “and they’re going to fight back hard,” he says. Millions of people must stand up and decide to participate if …

“Strategic research and rapid reaction team created to defend Hillary Clinton from unfounded attacks,” Correct the Record said on its website. The group’s first election cycle as a super PAC is underway.

Correct the Record is a “Carey committee,” or “hybrid PAC,” according to the Center for Responsive Politics. That means it can “keep two different accounts; one for contributions to federal candidates and parties, and the other for independent expenditures, to which limitless contributions can be made,” says the center.

Correct the Record was founded by David Brock, the lefty website Media Matters’ creator. American Bridge 21st Century, a leftist political action committee (PAC), had been Correct the Record’s parent organization until May 2015, when Correct the Record announced that it was breaking away from its parent organization to become its own PAC. After announcing that American Bridge President Brad Woodhouse would take a leave of absence to become president of Correct the Record, Brock also revealed that Kathleen Kennedy Townsend would head the PAC’s Board of Directors.

Correct the Record intends to cooperate closely with the Clinton campaign, in contrast to other independent-expenditure-only super PACs that are forbidden by the Federal Election Commission from coordinating with candidates or political parties. That’s because, according to the group, they don’t intend to spend any money on advertising. It would instead utilize its website and social media tools to rebut charges made against Clinton.

Adrienne Watson, a Correct the Record spokeswoman, told the Washington Post: “The FEC rules clearly allow some activities — in particular, activity on an organization’s website, through email, and on social media — to be lawfully coordinated with candidates and political parties. “. Non-federal entities have relied on this exclusion innumerable times. Correct the Record’s only distinction is that it makes the names of its donors and expenditures public.

An American Priorities ’16 fundraising organization was announced in July by the New York Times and Priorities USA Action, two pro-Clinton super PACs. A total of 20% of the funds earned through American Priorities ’16 will go to Correct the Record, with gifts of up to $1 million going to Priorities USA, per the agreement. Donors who give $1 million or more will see $200,000 go to Correct the Record and the rest to Priorities USA, the Times reports.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Correct the Record was one of the two largest “Carey committees” in terms of fundraising in 2015. According to the FEC’s mid-year filing, the super PAC raised over $1.4 million from 13 major donors and spent approximately $334,000 as of the end of June 2015. (You can find all of its FEC filings here.)

Former San Francisco Symphony President John D. Goldman and his wife Marcia, who together donated $250,000, were among the PAC’s top donors this election year. Colorado millionaire philanthropist Patricia Stryker also donated $250,000. $150,000 was provided by Barbara Lee, the founder of the Barbara Lee Family Foundation, which aims to promote “women’s equality and representation” in the arts …