Third Party Groups Under Fire for Big Spending in Midterm Elections

"Americans for Prosperity" Defends Actions

President Obama often mentions one third-party group by name -- "Americans for Prosperity."

President Obama speaks at an event to support Chris Coons, the Democratic candidate for Senate from Delaware, at the Grand Opera House in Wilmington, October 15, 2010.

(Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)

Today, the head of that organization defended his donors' anonymity.

"Too often, we see politicians and other partisans who would demonize individual Americans for just being involved in the public policy process, and that'll be wrong," said Tim Phillips, president of "Americans for Prosperity."

On the campaign trail, the president, Vice President Biden, and other top Democrats have also targeted the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for its massive ad spending, which is second only to the National Republican Congressional Committee, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Without providing any evidence, Obama has suggested that since the Chamber of Commerce has foreign members, perhaps some foreign money is funding pro-Republican attack ads. The Chamber denies the charge.

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"We're not going to subject our contributors to harassment, to intimidation, and to threats and invasions of privacy at their houses and places of business, which is what has happened every time there's been disclosure here," said Josten.

In fact, the Chamber said all the criticism has been a windfall for donations, with one prominent donor happy to disclose his identity. Glenn Beck just announced his plan to donate $10,000 to the Chamber of Commerce because of the controversy.

"I put my money where my mouth is," Beck said today on his radio program. "I made a donation today myself. I urge you to do the same."

It's not the first time that the president's criticism has sparked a wave of donations. When Obama began criticizing Karl Rove in speeches recently, it was a boon to the third party groups supported by Rove.

The organizations have raised $13 million since Obama launched his attack, and they've exceeded fundraising goals for the year with just two weeks to go before the midterm election. $800,000 of that money was just spent on ads in Colorado.

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