Obama Targets Chamber of Commerce

President Obama this afternoon joined the gang of Democrats and liberal groups alleging that the US Chamber of Commerce is using foreign funds to influence American elections.

Referring to a study by the liberal group ThinkProgress  that – correctly – notes that the US Chamber of Commerce has some funding sources abroad, including foreign corporations and American Chambers of Commerce around the world (or “AmChams”), the President said, “just this week, we learned that one of the largest groups paying for these ads regularly takes in money from foreign corporations.”

The president then took this step, saying, “groups that receive foreign money are spending huge sums to influence American elections, and they won’t tell you where the money for their ads come from.”

Chamber officials say that money coming from foreign donors cannot be used for political activity under the 1907 Tillman Act, and that the charge is false.

Tita Freeman, vice president of communications at the Chamber, said “this coordinated effort is a desperate attempt to silence those who support free enterprise and a diversion from their lack of progress on job creation.”