South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District Congressman Joe Cunningham claims he rejects all corporate PAC money and dark money. Yet he remains silent when PAC’s such as House Majority Forward run political ads in support of his campaign. Cunningham benefits from dark money while claiming he rejects it.

When it comes to dark money, South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District congressman should know his words and actions are not corresponding.  He decries dark money in his political ads, during his political appearances, and with his votes on the House floor.  He voted in favor of H.R.1 – For the People Act of 2019 which expands disclosure rules for organizations spending money during political campaigns – with the emphasis of removing dark money from political campaigns in the United States.  Yet Cunningham remains silent when dark money ads run in support of his 2020 congressional campaign, and then has the chutzpah to condemn dark money ads being run against him by conservative groups. 

What is dark money?  According to opensecrets.org, dark money refers to political spending meant to influence the decision of a voter, where the donor is not disclosed and the source of the money is unknown.  Congressman Joe Cunningham claims he is ‘keeping his promises to clean up Congress with bold ethics reform and by rejecting all corporate PAC money’.  Cunningham claims he is not accepting any dark money donations to his campaign.  What he does not disclose is that he approves of the dark money pouring into the 1st Congressional District in support of his campaign.  What other conclusion can the voters reach? 

Call it hypocrisy, sanctimony, or just plain dirty pool – Cunningham has yet to publicly renounce the campaign ads that are running in the 1st District that have been paid for by House Majority Forward.  House Majority Forward is a 501(c)4 organization. Public disclosure of House Majority Forward donors is not required for contributions made for the general purposes of House Majority Forward.  By definition, when House Majority Forward runs a political ad in support of Congressman Joe Cunningham, the money used to pay for it is dark money. 

Take a look at these commercials paid for by House Majority Forward.  The voters of the 1st Congressional District of South Carolina are familiar with the commercial titled SC01 – Gets It as it is currently running in the Coastal South Carolina media market.  In this commercial, people are encouraged to call Congressman Joe Cunningham and tell him to keep fighting for South Carolina’s coast.  Not surprising, the ad for Congresswoman Elaine Luria titled VA02 – Good Work parallels the Cunningham piece on the environment down to the call to Luria to keep fighting for Virginia’s coast. 

Both of these ads claim that each representative “passed” the bill to protect the coast.  This is deceptive in two ways.  First, Joe Cunningham did not pass H.R. 1941 Coastal & Marine Economies Protection Act, and neither did Congresswoman Elaine Luria.  They voted for the bill.  The House of Representatives passed the bill.  That’s how it works.  To proclaim that Cunningham passed any bill is beyond hubris.  It’s purposely deceptive.  Yet Cunningham has not issued any statement clarifying that he does not pass bills. 

Second, this bill and many others passed by the democrat-controlled House of Representatives, are dead on arrival in the republican-controlled Senate. Yet the ads leave the average voter believing that off-shore drilling along the South Carolina coast is now prohibited – thanks to Joe Cunningham.  Again, this is not accurate and Joe knows it.  So why does Cunningham allow these distortions and deceptive tactics to remain unchecked? 

Cunningham is basking in the shadows of dark money and he knows it.  By his silence he is endorsing the far-left, progressive House Majority Forward along with its aggressive advocacy policies that seek social justice.  Social justice, like so many other political objectives that sound righteous, is actually an extreme socialist objective of the Justice Democrats.  The Justice Democrats brand of social justice is socialism, plain and simple.  All the while Cunningham wants the voters in SC-1 to believe that he is some type of independent moderate.  That’s Joe.