Billionaire Koch Brothers tried to cover up funding of pro-Republican advertisement

In the final weeks of Wisconsin's 2012 recall elections, a previously-unknown group called Coalition for American Values Action flooded the state's airwaves with over $400,000 in ads that made a unique appeal: instead of promoting Governor Scott Walker or attacking his opponent, the ads attacked the premise of the recall itself. Over pastoral images of Wisconsinites with fishing poles and tractors, viewers were told that "recall is not the Wisconsin way," and to "stop the recall madness" by voting to reelect Walker.

Coalition for American Values Action adDespite the ads purporting to represent Wisconsin values, funding for the message came from well outside the Dairy State's borders: all of Coalition for American Values Action's known contributions come from an out-of-state group linked to the billionaire Koch brothers.

Coalition for American Values Action reported to Wisconsin election authorities that it spent $400,080 on its "recall isn't the Wisconsin way" ads, but because of an apparent loophole in state campaign finance law, it never disclosed the true source of its funding. Recently released tax filings, though, reveal that the primary source of the group's funding in 2012 was the Center to Protect Patient Rights (CPPR), a conduit for $156 million in political spending raised by the Kochs and their network of funders.

The Center for Media and Democracy has filed a complaint with Wisconsin's Government Accountability Board alleging that Coalition for American Values Action violated Wisconsin's campaign finance laws by failing to disclose this funding.