$1 million in outside money floods S.C., targets Spratt
WASHINGTON - For Rep. John Spratt, the fallout from a landmark Supreme Court ruling that lifted limits on corporate campaign spending is more than $1 million from five groups based outside South Carolina and unified by the goal of defeating the House Budget Committee chairman.
The groups targeting Spratt, a Democrat from York, have lofty, patriotic names, but the one that has spent the most - Citizens for a Working America - is a shell operation run by a Cincinnati lawyer and a Virginia Republican consultant.The Lancaster, Va., home address of the GOP consultant, Norman Cummings, is registered with the Federal Election Commission as the address of Citizens for a Working America.That political action committee was formed just seven weeks ago - on Sept. 10 - and has spent $254,791, all of it on TV ads attacking Spratt.Cummings said Spratt is ripe for defeat because he’s served in the House for almost 28 years and his 5th Congressional District has voted for Republican presidential candidates in recent elections.
