Yet Another PAC Takes Out Yet Another Commercial Targeting Roy, Jr.

A group that calls itself “GOPAC Louisiana” (but is actually simply known as GOPAC) recently took out a television commercial targeting Chris Roy, Jr. in his bid to become State Representative for District 25. The attempt to re-brand GOPAC as a local political action committee is not too surprising, considering this is the same PAC that was sued by the Federal Election Commission for failing to disclose financial statements and not adhering to the federal maximum contribution limits.

GOPAC was founded in 1979 by Delaware Governor Pierre du Pont IV, but it first rose to prominence during the 1990s, when Newt Gingrich’s “Republican Revolution” took control of Congress. GOPAC’s tactics in the 1990s were controversial, and Gingrich was eventually reprimanded for using GOPAC as his own personal “slush fund.” From the December 5, 1995 edition of The LA Times:

According to the commission, Gingrich used GOPAC as a personal slush fund to save his 1990 campaign, which he won by 974 votes. GOPAC paid his American Express fees, put him up in the fanciest hotels and provided his campaign with consultants to, in the words of one advisor, “help Newt think.” Internal GOPAC memos admit that “Newt support” cost the organization $250,000 in 1990 and that “helping Newt” was “probably the most single high priority we’ve got in dollars.”

By not registering as a federal political action committee, Gingrich and GOPAC violated the legal requirements to disclose the names of contributors who provide more than $200, limit individual contributions to $5,000 and ban corporate contributions. Instead, the commission found that GOPAC accepted millions of dollars in secret contributions from individuals and corporations in a concerted and successful campaign to seize control of Congress.

GOPAC attempted to bend campaign finance laws in order to avoid registering as a federal PAC; this maneuver allowed GOPAC to withhold financial information while they became increasingly embroiled in marquis “State” races.

Today, GOPAC is led by former Lt. Governor of Maryland Michael Steele, who succeeded J.C. Watts as chairman. Their strategy is still very “State-centric.” During the jungle primary, GOPAC launched a radio advertisement targeting Bob Odom. Their latest advertisement against Chris Roy, Jr. may represent their first foray into the Louisiana television marketplace, and it is precisely what one would expect from an out-of-State political action committee that has a long history of misleading voters and misrepresenting the truth.

Predictably, the commercial attempts to morph Roy as a certain type of “liberal” Democrat, without offering any evidence or sourcing anything specific. Despite the fact that Roy has a pro-life, business-friendly platform, the commercial suggests that he is somehow a radical. And instead of focusing on the issues that affect District 25 the most, the commercial relies on recapitulating the hackneyed talking points of the far-right.

With all of the money being spread around by outside political action committees on behalf of Lance Maxwell, one wonders who, exactly, Maxwell intends on representing– the people of this district or the small group of party insiders bankrolling his campaign?