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NRCC crafts new fundraising gambit

The Republican campaign committee believes its fundraising efforts are technically legal, though they appear underhanded.
By Steve Benen, Steve Benen
 
The National Republican Congressional Committee is also taking the race very seriously -- so seriously, in fact, that the NRCC has come up with an unusual fundraising gambit.
 
Folks can go to a website that looks legitimate -- contribute.sinkforcongress2014.com -- and find a nice photo of the Democratic candidate alongside a graphic that reads, "Alex Sink - Congress." If you're not reading carefully, you might assume this is a page for Sink supporters to make a campaign contribution to their preferred candidate. But it's not -- this is a page set up by Republicans. The Tampa Bay Times reported yesterday:

Ray Bellamy said he wanted to make a political contribution to Alex Sink a Google search landed him at "http://contribute.sinkforcongress2014.com." "It looked legitimate and had a smiling face of Sink and all the trappings of a legitimate site," Bellamy, a doctor from Tallahassee who follows Florida politics, wrote in an email to the [Times]. What Bellamy overlooked was that the site is designed to raise money against Sink. "I failed to notice the smaller print: Under "Alex Sink Congress" was the sentence 'Make a contribution today to help defeat Alex Sink and candidates like her,' " he said.

Once Democratic supporters make their contribution, they're directed to a new page on the NRCC's website thanking them for donating to defeat Democrats.
 
In other words, the Republican campaign committee seems to be trying to trick people -- and in at least some instances, it's having the desired effect.
 
What's more, this isn't limited to Florida.
 
National Journal reported this has become a national effort launched by the NRCC in advance of the 2014 midterms.

The National Republican Congressional Committee proudly launched a faux campaign website for Democratic candidate Domenic Recchia this week, mocking him as a "career politician … asking for your vote." They even bought Google ads to direct New Yorkers to www.domenic-recchia.com, designed at first glance to look like it could be Recchia's own, down to the same yellow star replacing the dot in the 'i' of his last name. The problem is such a look-alike site, with a banner blaring "Domenic Recchia for Congress," may violate Federal Election Commission regulations for confusing the public, election lawyers say.

There's no firm count yet on the exact number of districts in which the NRCC is trying this stunt, though Rebecca Leber found six similar instances, all following the same model.
 
For their part, officials at the Republicans' campaign committee insist the trick is technically legal and the NRCC is willing to return contributions to those who believe they were deceived.