Outside Groups Spend Big on 2012 Ads

I've been seeing the Karl Rove Crossroads GPS ads on television, and they're covered at today's Los Angeles Times, "Independent groups getting a head start on 2012 campaign":

Reporting from Washington

An early television war fueled by independent groups is poised to shape the focus and landscape of the 2012 presidential race much as "tea-party"-backed organizations helped set the stage for Republican victories in 2010.

This summer — a full 16 months before the general election — television viewers across the country are already confronting hard-hitting commercials jousting over President Obama's record on the economy. Such political ads are usually confined to places such as Iowa and New Hampshire at this point in the race.

The ads aren't the work of the president's reelection campaign or the Republicans jockeying to run against him — they are the product of a new breed of well-funded outside groups seeking to define the contours of the 2012 campaign.

One of the biggest, Crossroads GPS, has pledged to spend $20 million in television advertising in July and August alone.

"I supported President Obama because he spoke so beautifully, but since then, things have gone from bad to much worse," says the character of a worried mom in the group's latest spot, running nationally on cable as well as on broadcast stations in six states.

Keep reading.

I'll look around for some of the other groups highlighted at the piece. The trend is not new, although the scale of outside spending for 2012 may break records.