'$uper-O-Rama' planned for DNC week

Democratic super PACs are gearing up for an epic fundraising campaign during the party's national convention in Charlotte.

They're calling the money grab "the Super-O-Rama," according to a Wednesday report by POLITICO.

"The kitschy name is for a massive fundraising push at the national convention in Charlotte," the political news Web site said, "where Democrats aim to woo elusive big donors with parties featuring live music, open bars and mingling with 'senior Democratic policy leaders,' according to a fundraising appeal."

There's some urgency to their plan: Democratic super PACs like the pro-President Barack Obama Priorities USA Action are strapped for cash, POLITICO said.And they are anticipating "a tidal wave of attack ads" from better-funded GOP super PACs such as Crossroads (affiliated with Karl Rove) and Americans for Prosperity (backed by the Koch brothers).

In its report, POLITICO sounded a skeptical note about the "Super" fundraising plan for convention week:

"But the plan isn't perfect. The Democratic National Convention is just two months before the general election -- too late to spend any money raised there on ads, some Democrats worry. Plus, conventions do not typically lend themselves to the type of one-on-one meetings where mega donors usually sign six- and seven-figure checks."

Super PACs are private groups that can spend unlimited amounts of cash without having to disclose who their donors are. They are also supposedly independent, though most are headed by friends or former staffers of the candidates they're promoting. For example, former Obama aide Bill Burton co-founded Priorities USA.

It was a landmark 2010 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court's that paved the way for these free-spending Super PACs, which specialize in attack ads. In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the court effectively prohibited the government from restricting independent political expenditures by corporations and unions.

Tim Funk