It’s swell that President Obama is raising more money than any GOP candidate and plans on competing in all 50 states, but there’s always that pesky “however” looming overhead. And that “however” is spelled C-I-T-I-Z-E-N-S U-N-I-T-E-D generally, and U-S  C-H-A-M-B-E-R- O-F- C-H-A-M-B-E-R O-F C-O-M-M-E-R-C-E specifically. Via the L.A. Times:

The chamber’s power has grown enormously in the last decade under Chief Executive Tom Donohue, who has emphasized political engagement and building the organization’s membership and treasury. Because it is a nonprofit trade association, the chamber can accept unlimited contributions from corporations and then use them in independent political ads — giving it an advantage over the strictly limited donations to candidates. Like other trade associations, the chamber does not release details of the donations and it has resisted efforts to require donor disclosure.

The new ads are so-called issue ads that do not explicitly endorse or oppose a candidate, but instead urge viewers to call the official.

They’re airing ads earlier in the campaign cycle than ever before. Why? Simple. They want a more business-friendly Congress.

It’s hard to believe a more business-friendly Congress is even possible.

[They] expect to use a grass-roots organization, “Friends of the Chamber,” to actively target 10 to 12 Senate races and 50 or more House seats, a record number. They also expect to see a boost in the number of state and local chamber affiliates becoming active politically. [...] The Friends of the Chamber program was the brainchild of the chamber’s recently departed political director, Bill Miller. The organization now boasts 7 million members who have generated more than 2.3 million letters and emails to members of Congress since 2008.

Of course, their overall theme is “economic growth versus big government.” I would add to that, “undisclosed donor growth versus transparency and campaign finance reform.”