Something big happened in Richmond last week -- and a couple millionaires and billionaires are hoping you didn't notice.

The U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed last week that groups like the Koch brothers' Americans for Prosperity and Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS should have to disclose exactly who's behind the millions of dollars they're spending to influence this election.

They're going to try to avoid this for as long as they can. After all, they have a vested interest in being able to spend millions anonymously to influence our elections -- many of the corporations and individuals funding their organizations don't want their agendas to receive scrutiny from the press or the public.

We can make sure they don't get away with hiding these donors -- or their agendas. But it's going to take a lot of us standing up, putting our foot down, and saying "Hell no."

We've put together a petition demanding that these secret front groups disclose for the country exactly who their donors are. Do what these guys won't do: Let the country know exactly what you stand for by adding your name today.

Ask yourself: Don't we all have a right to know exactly which corporations and individuals are spending millions in attack ads to influence elections -- and what their agendas are?

If you agree, add your name today:

[url]

More soon,

Messina

Jim Messina

Campaign Manager

Obama for America

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Obama - Biden --

It's bad enough that Mitt Romney's super PAC can accept a $X million check from a mogul who has pledged to spend an "unlimited" amount of money to defeat President Obama.

But at least that guy has the guts to stand behind his donation.

You can't say the same of the corporations and individuals giving tens of millions to Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS. Groups like Crossroads GPS and the Koch brothers' Americans for Prosperity -- which are already spending millions of dollars on ads to influence this election by trashing President Obama -- were set up to exploit a loophole that allows unlimited anonymous donations to "social welfare" groups.

It might all change, though. Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that these "social welfare" groups are accountable for their spending when their purpose is so clearly to influence our elections. So they should have to disclose their donors. Rove and the Koch brothers will undoubtedly drag their feet, hoping to prevent or delay any disclosure until after the election so they can protect their anonymous benefactors.

That's not right, and now the courts are on our side. Will you stand with me and tell groups like Crossroads GPS and AFP to disclose their donors now?

Disclosure isn't a partisan issue -- even conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has argued that "requiring people to stand up in public for their political acts fosters civic courage, without which democracy is doomed."

It's a basic principle of democracy, and it's one we all need to fight for.

The rules have changed since the last election, and groups like Rove's and the Kochs' have been trying to exploit them, spending millions of dollars without having to own up to it. That ends now.

Will you stand up with Americans across the political spectrum and call on Crossroads GPS to disclose their donors?

[url]

Messina

Jim Messina Campaign Manager Obama for America

----- More than 2 million people like you power this campaign. If you can, please donate today.

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Obama - Biden --

Big news: Last week, the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued a ruling that will help bring shady outside groups out of the shadows and make them release their donors.

Karl Rove, the Koch brothers, and every other shadow player with secret, undisclosed donors potentially have a big problem: If they're going to throw millions into ads to influence this election by trashing President Obama, they're going to have to step up and own it.

It's clear that these guys will try to evade, appeal, and drag their feet in any way they can to get through Election Day without disclosing the names of the corporations and individuals trying to secretly buy this election.

So it's up to us to put the pressure on them and demand that they respect the ruling and disclose their donors.

Add your name now to show you're not hiding -- and demand that Rove, the Kochs, and the rest disclose the corporations and individuals funding their organizations.

Our campaign discloses its donors according to the law, and our average donation is about $X.

Karl Rove and the Kochs run organizations that are the opposite -- totally secret. We don't know what their average donation is. It could be in the hundreds of thousands, or millions.

These secretly-funded political organizations abuse laws meant for charitable organizations to effectively launder money to influence elections, without any accountability from the press or the public. They want to be able to affect the outcome of this election and have their identity known only to the power brokers who arrange meetings with elected officials, push legislation, and influence policy.

That's not how our democracy should work.

To fight for President Obama and win this thing in November, we need to know exactly who we're up against. And when voters are blitzed with negative TV ads telling them to vote for the other side, they deserve to know who's behind them.

We can't just wait for them to do the right thing.

Ratchet up the pressure on Rove, the Koch brothers, and the rest of the GOP outside groups to come clean and reveal who's funding them:

[url]

Thank you,

Messina

Jim Messina Campaign Manager Obama for America

----- More than 2 million people like you power this campaign. If you can, please donate today.

Paid for by Obama for America

Contributions or gifts to Obama for America are not tax deductible.

This email was sent to: [email]

Update address| Unsubscribe