American Crossroads executives Duncan, Law offer goals for 2012 election cycle

Conservative fundraisers Mike Duncan and Steven Law are, respectively, chairman and president of American Crossroads, the most influential of the Republican "super PACs," or political action committees. The US Supreme Court in 2010 ruled that groups like American Crossroads can raise unlimited funds from individuals, corporations, and unions to support political candidates. Mr. Duncan (r.) and Mr. Law (l.) were guests at a June 24 Monitor breakfast in Washington.

Goals in the 2012 election cycle:

Duncan: "We will have a unique role going forward and it is three phases – it is the defeat of Barack Obama, maintain [GOP control of] the House, and electing a majority in the Senate."

Role in Republican presidential primaries:

Duncan: "Crossroads ... will not be involved in the Republican presidential primary."

American Crossroads' fundraising goals for the 2012 election:

Law: "We have set a goal of spending $120 million ... and we are going to need every penny of it to have a chance of keeping up with the much larger dollars that we expect to be poured in by the left."

Why Crossroads executives say Democrats will be more competitive in 2012 despite a high unemployment rate:

Duncan: "We are going to have $2 billion spent [by Democrats].... [Mr. Obama's] incumbency gives him the ability to do things like raise a lot of money."

Role of Crossroads founder Karl Rove, former political adviser to President George W. Bush:

Duncan: "Karl is an unpaid adviser. From time to time, I will call him and ask him about what he knows."

Whether House GOP Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan's plan to change Medicare into a voucher support program hurts the party's election chances:

Law: "I don't think I would use the word 'liability'.... Voters, seniors particularly, are naturally worried when you talk about any changes in Medicare. So how you articulate it, how you describe it, and how you go after it all can be very important."