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| America Coming Together | |
|---|---|
| Name | America Coming Together |
| Formation | 2003 |
| Type | Political action group |
| Headquarters | New York City |
| Leader title | President |
| Leader name | Steve Rosenthal |
| Dissolution | 2005 |
| Website | (defunct) |
America Coming Together
America Coming Together was a United States progressive political organization active during the 2004 election cycle, formed to mobilize voter turnout and oppose the re-election campaign of President George W. Bush. Founded by labor and advocacy figures, the group coordinated field operations, paid media, and voter registration drives across battleground states such as Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania. Backed by prominent donors from finance and entertainment, the organization became a focal point in debates over political spending, campaign finance law, and grassroots organizing during the early twenty‑first century.
America Coming Together was created in 2003 amid debates following the 2000 United States presidential election and the 2002 midterm elections. Its founding aligned with the rise of large-scale 527 groups exemplified by MoveOn.org, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, and Progressive Majority. Early coordination involved strategists with previous ties to campaigns such as John Kerry 2004 presidential campaign and organizations including Service Employees International Union and AFL–CIO. The group mobilized in the context of policy disputes over the Iraq War, the Patriot Act, and judicial nominations surrounding the Supreme Court of the United States, aiming to influence outcomes in swing contests like the 2004 United States presidential election and numerous United States Senate and United States House of Representatives races.
The organization was staffed by veterans of electoral politics and labor movements; its leadership included president Steve Rosenthal and senior advisers with ties to Democratic National Committee, John Edwards, and Howard Dean. Field directors and data staff often migrated between ACT and campaigns such as Kerry–Edwards campaign and advocacy groups like DNC Services Corporation and Progressive Policy Institute. Board members and consultants included figures connected to MoveOn.org Political Action Committee, Rockefeller Family Fund, and donor networks overlapping with George Soros‑aligned entities. Operational hubs were established in urban centers including New York City, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. to coordinate state directors in battlegrounds like Michigan and Wisconsin.
ACT ran large voter contact programs combining paid canvassers, phone banks, and mail efforts modeled on practices from prior campaigns such as Bill Clinton 1992 presidential campaign and Al Gore 2000 presidential campaign. The group produced advertisements and direct mail targeting constituencies identified through modeled data sets similar to those used by Nielsen, Catalist, and campaign analytics teams supporting John Kerry. It partnered with labor organizations including SEIU and AFL–CIO for get‑out‑the‑vote operations and coordinated with local party committees in Ohio 2004 election, Nevada, and Iowa. ACT also sponsored issue advocacy against policies associated with the George W. Bush administration, including critiques related to Social Security reform proposals and the No Child Left Behind Act.
Funding for ACT derived from high‑net‑worth individuals, philanthropic foundations, and political committees, resembling donor patterns seen in groups like 527 organizations and Democratic Majority for Israel donors. Major donors included financiers connected to networks around Tom Steyer, Peter B. Lewis, and foundations such as the Carnegie Corporation and Open Society Foundations. Contributions paralleled larger debates involving the Federal Election Commission and state disclosure rules; donors also included figures affiliated with MoveOn.org funding circles and labor fundraising associated with SEIU and AFL–CIO sponsorships. The scale of spending placed ACT among the largest independent expenditures in the 2004 cycle, comparable to outlays by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth on the conservative side.
ACT became embroiled in disputes over the legal status of independent political expenditures, campaign coordination rules established under decisions like McConnell v. Federal Election Commission and issues later addressed in Citizens United v. FEC. Critics alleged improper coordination with the Democratic National Committee and certain campaigns, prompting investigations involving state election authorities in Ohio and federal scrutiny referenced in filings to the Federal Election Commission. Lawsuits and complaints invoked statutory frameworks such as sections of the Internal Revenue Code when assessing nonprofit channels used for advocacy; the organization also faced public controversy paralleling cases involving Americans for Prosperity and MoveOn.org about disclosure and cross‑organizational strategy.
Although ACT disbanded after the 2004 cycle, its model influenced subsequent progressive organizing infrastructure including the digital and field operations of Organizing for America, Priorities USA Action, and labor‑aligned turnout programs. Lessons from ACT informed data integration practices later adopted by campaigns like Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign and organizations such as Catalist and Data for Progress. The controversies surrounding ACT contributed to continuing legal and normative debates about independent expenditures, addressed in later cases like Citizens United v. FEC and regulatory changes at the Federal Election Commission. The organization’s scale and tactics remain a reference point in scholarship on political mobilization and the evolution of modern American electoral politics involving actors such as MoveOn.org, SEIU, and high‑profile donors in the twenty‑first century.
Category:Political advocacy groups in the United States