The money pours in, and then the complaints

The HRC and the Courage Campaign say the Ruth Institute has violated that prohibition in several ways. In one example, a video shows Morse at a Fiorina campaign event in San Diego, where she identified herself as the Ruth Institute president, handed out bumper stickers for the institute and urged listeners to visit the group's Web site. The complaint also cites other videos, Internet links and blog postings linking the Ruth Institute with the Fiorina campaign; many of the references have since been removed.

"They simply believe they are above the law," said Rick Jacobs, founder and chairman of the Courage Campaign.

Brown dismisses such allegations, saying NOM and its affiliates are scrupulous about abiding by the rules. He acknowledged one incident mentioned in the complaint, which he characterized as a simple mistake: NOM issued a news release about a Fiorina event that named the Ruth Institute; he said the release was retracted when the error was pointed out by the group's critics.

"We know the law, and we follow the law," Brown said. "They're trying to silence us and make it hard for us to operate."

Neither side expects the matter to be decided before the Nov. 2 elections. The IRS can take months, or years, to adjudicate such complaints.

Super-duper PACs?

One result of this year's Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission is the rise of "super PACs," which are free to raise and spend unlimited funds as long as they don't coordinate with candidates.

Now there's a new wrinkle, according to the Sunlight Foundation: The all-corporate super PAC.

Alaskans Standing Together, a new super PAC formed to support Sen. Lisa Murkoswki (R-Alaska), has told the FEC it has raised $805,000 so far - all of it from a group of nine federal contractors known as Alaska Native Corporations. As The Washington Post has reported, billions of taxpayer dollars have gone to such contractors amid widespread allegations of abuse.

Call it the Washington Circle of Life: from taxpayer to contractor to politician . . .