American Leadership Project

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The American Leadership Project (ALP) was a U.S. political group formed in February 2008 as a 527 organization. It did not endorse any candidate but ran ads before Democratic primaries in Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana in support of Hillary Clinton and against Barack Obama. After Obama became the nominee, ALP also ran ads against John McCain.

Rumors said ALP planned to spend about $10 million on ads in Texas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania before their primaries. By March 5, 2008 it had raised about $1.2 million, including a $1 million contribution from AFSCME, a union backing Clinton. It aired $833,000 worth of pro-Clinton TV ads in Texas and Ohio and had about $300,000 left.

ALP disclosed its donors quarterly to the IRS, as required for 527 groups, and because it ran electioneering communications it also had to disclose donors and expenditures to the FEC within 24 hours of new ads.

Jason Kinney, a California political consultant who helped develop the group, said they were navigating a new area of the law and believed they were complying. Fred Wertheimer of Democracy 21 criticized ALP as a way to spend unlimited soft money to influence the election, noting it looked like a campaign ad.

Their first television ad said, “If speeches could create jobs, we wouldn’t be facing a recession,” echoing Clinton’s argument that Obama’s eloquence wouldn’t lead to real policy changes.

Ohio activist Subodh Chandra, an Obama supporter, filed a complaint with the FEC asking for an investigation and penalties, arguing ALP allowed Clinton backers to contribute beyond the legal limit by using the 527 vehicle. Democratic candidate Mike Gravel also filed suit in Ohio to bar an ALP ad there before the Ohio primary.

In Texas, ALP aired two ads comparing the two candidates’ health care plans. FactCheck.org said one ad misrepresented what the group had said about Clinton’s plan, and the other ad was criticized for selectively quoting a Washington Post editorial to make it appear as the paper’s own opinion.