Bob Perry recently donated $400,000 to Club for Growth, a group with a reputation for producing misleading attack ads. The group is now using Perry's contribution to produce ads against Democratic Senate Candidate Mark Udall. TPM speculates that these attack ads may be Republican candidate Schaffer's only hope:

Schaffer will be relying on wealthy funders like Perry to be funding, via Club for Growth, attack ad campaigns that just might enable him to hang on to his seat despite the scandals engulfing him.

But this isn't Perry's first foray into funding deceptive ads:

In 2006, Perry became the primary financier of the Free Enterprise Fund, a 527 heavily criticized for producing an attack ad suggesting Senator Menendez had mob connections. Perry also had a habit of putting the home telephone numbers of Democratic Candidates in his TV attack spots.

In 2004, Perry was the primary financier of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a smear campaign devoted to undermining Democratic Presidential Nominee John Kerry.

In 2001 and 2002, Perry was the largest contributor to DeLay's PACs, giving $165,000 in 2002 and $95,000 in 2001. DeLay was later indicted for conspiracy charges in 2005.

Read more about Perry's efforts here and here.

Since I announced Friday the formation of Accountable America to educate the public about right-wing and business-oriented groups and their leaders and donors, some conservatives have reacted with outrage and asserted First Amendment issues.

These harsh reactions, though, have been isolated.  Americans across the country, still angered by the false and vicious Swift Boat attacks in 2004 and concerned about their new counterparts in 2008, have embraced the announcement, and since our launch we have raised tens of thousands of dollars over the Internet without spending a dime on advertising or email lists.

Nonetheless I want to expound on the rationale for engaging in this effort.  It is rooted in deeply-held views about democracy and elections.

First, it is my right.  Free speech like mine is especially protected when the information is of “legitimate concern to the public,” which I would argue is inherent in a political or public policy debate – as the Supreme Court declared 44 years ago in New York Times, Inc. v. Sullivan, there is “a profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust and wide-open.”

Conservative groups and their donors have the same rights, and I honor and respect them for exercising them.  And, part of public debate is having one’s speech and political activity met with other speech and political activity, including criticism and freely posed challenges to the credibility and interests of the messengers and their financiers.  Nobody, including Accountable America and me, is owed some sort of immunity from criticism, and certainly the principal funders of conservative groups are not exempt simply because they are rich, influential or prefer privacy despite their ventures into the public sphere.

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Welcome to Accountable America. We're working to stop the Right Wing special interest groups who are pushing lawmakers in Washington.

Accountable America works to stop the outrageous policies of right-wing and special interests in Washington especially in the areas of economic policy, energy policy, national security policy and government reform.

Our first project seeks to discourage groups and right-wing donors trying to "swiftboat" progressives. We aim to educate the public about the connections between these donors, many with unsavory business and personal stories, and lawmakers in Washington.

Accountable America is a non-partisan, non-profit corporation. We do not seek to elect or defeat candidates or endorse candidates for federal office.

Our funding comes over the Internet, from individuals and from unions and progressive political organizations.