of course, folks, i haven't mentioned the most powerful superpac, colbert superpac.pplause) now i happen to believe it's gauche to talk about all the money you have, so i will let other people do it. >> stephen colbert started his own superpac. he pulled down a million bucks. >> he raised a million dollars. >> a million dollars. >> $1 million dollars. >> a million dollars, here. >> $1 million dollars! >> a million dollars well 1 million. >> $1 million. >> stephen: yes, a million dollars. and only half of it went to paying for those movie clips. folks, it all started 11 months ago right here. you see, hi just seen this ad for presidential candidate tim pawlenty. now if that name doesn't ring a bell, don't worry, it didn't back then either. (laughter) and i thought to myself, i'd also like to spend other people's money on something like that. well, we've come a long way because now when you google superpac, colbert superpac is the second and third result. (cheers and applause) i, i don't want to stop there. i want the google recognition of a santorum. i will not be sat

>> they differ from superpac to superpac. i think the candidate strategies are similarly. but the pro-gingrich superpac came out and said they were going to do a real ground war operation, they were going to get out voters, that they were going to target voters. and there were some people i talked to who said that difficult for a superpac to do. the most effective use of a superpac may be running ads because if you don't have a candidate to mobilize volunteers it's hard to motivate people and really turn them out to vote. >> ifill: one of the things that comes out of these periodic discussion disugzs we have about money is that money yields a result, and the $$10 million newt gingrich got kept him alive through south carolina and florida and he wouldn't have been able to survive. but rick perry got a lot of money. jon huntsman got some superpac money-- mostly from his farther, it turns out. but they are no long inert race. is there a direct connection between money coming into these races this way and candidates florirring? >> that's the eternal question, isn't it? i think

this past week the sec gave us our first look at superpac donors. billionaires included. >> reporter: 16 billionaires on the forbes 400, the magazine's list of the richest americans have given to superpacs. 12 gave to the pro romney group restore our future. that includes hotel moguls, bill and richard marriott and wal-mart heirs jim and alice wallton. total, 10 million from donors who gave a million dollars each. one of them is florida energy company president william koch, another is frank vanderslo the united states. mr. obama get a different job. >> reporter: vanderabsolute is also a romney campaign finance co-chairman that illustrates the very close relationship between campaigns and superpacs. according to bill allison of the sunlight foundation. >> really does seem to be blurring the distintions that don't forget llionaire hars and his company donated $8.5 million tothrough superpac, half a million to the pro gingrich superpac winning our future. simmons donations are second only to those from billionaire casino owner sheldon adelson. add e8s

a pro-gingrich superpac was set up by his former spokesperson rick tyler and a pro-romney superpac is run by his former political director carl forti. >> this is clearly one of those washington situations where with a wink and nod you can do almost anything. >> reporter: scott, the anyt president's political advisors plainly admit they did this because they didn't want to go into the election with one arm tied behind their back. here's what they're facing: a rl rrpac run by karl rove has ised to to raise some $200 million. the billionaire koch brothers have also talked about steering up to $200 million to conservative groups by election day. >> pelley: norah, thank you very much. the white house also said today it is considering humanitarian aid for syria as the situation there descends into civil war. as you already know, there's been an uprising there for 11 months. the rebels are trying to overthrow the iron-fisted dictatorship of bashar al-assad, a dictatorship that began with di 0 years er 40 years ago. in damascus today, assad met with the foreign minister of russia-- one of syr

>> they differ from superpac to superpac. i think the candidate strategies are similarly. but the pro-gingrich superpac came out and said they were going to do a real ground war operation, they were going to get out voters, that they were going to target voters. and there were some people i talked to who said that's difficult for a superpac to do. the most effective use of a superpac may be running ads because if you don't have a candidate to mobilize volunteers it's hard to motivate people and really turn them out to vote. >> ifill: one of the things that comes out of these periodic discussion disugzs we have about money is that money yields a result, and the $$10 million newt gingrich got kept him alive through south carolina and florida and he wouldn't have been able to survive. but rick perry got a lot of money. jon huntsman got some superpac money-- mostly from his farther, it turns out. but they are no long inert race. is there a direct connection between money coming into these races this way and candidates florirring? >> that's the eternal question, isn't it? i thi

igt there is no limit on donations to superpacs. toy reported their most recent take to the federal election commission overnight and we sked armen keteyian to tell us mere the big money is coming from. >> thank you! f> reporter: the source of mitt romney's political firepower became clear just hours after tos victory in florida. the federal election commission's data released late last night showed the superpac supporting romney "restore our future" raised $18 million $18een july and december, 2011, ncluding three donations of a million dollars each. the seven-figure contributors velted toward wall street. investment advisor julian robertson, hedge fund manager paul singer and financial consultant robert mercer all gave a million dollars. llerall, restore our future took futu donations of $100,000 or more in the last six months of 2011. jim and alice walton-- heirs to the wal-mart fortune-- were in that group. rt comparison, the superpac backing newt gingrich "winning nir future" lagged far behind. it raised $2 million in the last

dream will not go to colbert superpac. they'll still go to charities like the yellow ribbon fund, donors choose, and the lns recovery fund providing emergency medical care for people who have accidentally ingested jimmy fallon's late night snack. ( laughter ) ( applause ) now, folks, the physical damage lasts only a few days, but the emotional scars last a lifetime. and to celebrate this new superpackaging on valentine's day, the fifth anniversary of the release of americone dream, participating ben & jerry's scoop shops across america will be giving it away. that's right, free americone dream, february 14, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. so make sure to head on over and get yours because on valentine's day, there's no better way to say "i hate you, jimmy fallon." ( laughter ) i really hate you. ( laughter ) >> oooh! >> stephen: i miss us. we'll be right back. >> stephen: welcome back, everybody. my guest tonight is working to end gang violence. she should have five teach them poetry. please welcome ameena matthews. ( cheers a

and the amount of money going toward republican superpacs versus democratic superpacs. he said it keeps him up at night. what do you make of that? >> it should keep him up at night, there's a lot of money flowing into these races from outside that republicans really are dominating right now. that money chase. maybe the democrats will find a way to keep up but it sounds like at every level they're having difficulty with that and we saw that last time around, we saw outside groups, the crossroads groups come in and spend a lot in congressional races. so this is something that democrats should be concerned about until they get on par and again their donors aren't doing that. he didn't talk too much about why it is that their donors aren't ponying up. i expect some that have has to do with the amount that democrats have -- the amount of energy they've spent decrying the use of superpacs publicly. then they go to their donors and ask them to donate to them and it makes it more difficult to make that sale. >> jessica taylor, when i asked him about this red to blue program, 57

up until now we didn't know who was funding these superpacs. the great day for transparency because tomorrow voters in iowa, new hampshire, south carolina and florida will finally have the vital information that would have been useful before they voted. (laughter) >> stephen: now we, we at colbert superpac have properly filled out all the actual paperwork which we will file at midnight tonight. and post on the colbert superpac web site and which will tell you exactly how much we have raised. i think some people are going to be pleasantly dropping a load in their pants. (laughter) >> stephen: now folks, the filing, this filings also contains the names of every donor who gave us more than $200. great americans like ibin yerkinnoff. larry ballsagna. pat magroin and frumunda maballz. and i just want to take a second here to thank all of you donors frumunda my heart. nation, you know i'm always looking out for you. and the news that affects your life. remember that story about brain eating am evenas in louisiana tap watter? i really vud should is ha

the president isn't setting up a superpac.nothing to do with the superpac. >> except -- >> isn't he going to send out folks to fund-raisers for -- >> no. are democrats going to line up and start -- and sort of fund raise for their own superpacs? absolutely they r. it's beyond to be stupid, it would be political suicide for democrats to disarm and not engage in superpacs. karl rove's superpac raised over $50 million. it would be political suicide for democrats to -- >> i get that from -- >> and not play by the same rules as republicans are playing by. >> right. i don't think anyone disagrees that it makes sense from a political standpoint. do you think, though, it's a fundamental change of his position basically allowing surrogates to go to the things whereas in the past he's spoken against superpacs? >> i think you will still see him speak against superpacs but the political reality is when they're raising $50 million, you know, unfiltered money in that way, the political reality is that democrat haves to play by the same rule

the senate candidates who are taking a pass on superpacs. a baseball hall of famer, remembering "the kid." and a surprise for tourists at the white house when the "cbs evening news" continues. sleep number store different? they say, "well, if you want a firm bed you can lie on one of those." we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. wow. that feels really good. it's about support where you find it most comfortable. at the ultimate sleep number event, queen mattresses now start at just $599. and save 50% on the final closeout of our innovative limited edition bed. plus, enjoy special offers through monday only. only at the sleep number store. how about the beat of a healthy heart? campbell's healthy request soup is delicious, and earned this heart, for being heart healthy. ♪ feel the beat? it's amazing what soup can do. to grazers... kenmore is in the lives of over 100 million americans. that's why no fridge in america has more capacity. we put more in, so you get more out. kenmore. >> pelley: there are no kennedys in congr

and newt gingrich's superpac.en the huge influx of money, president obama's finally concedes that if he does not take the money from the superpacs, it would be at a considerable disadvantage. host: say louis, missouri. caller: with all the money that pours in, but little man does not have a chance. what about a corn -- about acorn? guest: i agree with you that the regular person has been sidetracked in this will nomination process. now we see independent expenditures made by these superpacs on behalf of congressional candidates, as well. congressmen and congresswomen are now more concerned with special interests than they are with the interest of regular americans. they're constantly raising money. the money has totally over power of our political system. host: james on twitter writes -- is that possible, to abolish the fec. guest: john mccain calls the fec a little agency that cannot. it has really been a disaster. the formation was a good idea of. the way it is currently constituted, with three republicans and t

backing campaign officials, some white house and cabinet officials will attend superpac fundraisingvents... and several major fundraisers tell cnn - on a conference call campaign officials gave ttem the immression they now should give toothe superpac. in also practical terms this meansso large corporations, for profit corporations, not for profit corporations flash to very wwalthh individuals with their personal money, labor unions, trade associations,,open season on where this money can come from with no limits whatsoever.one advantage of a superpac? it can run attack ads without the resident's name attached to them.ttat's the romney rule. lower taxes for millionaires like mitt.but campaign officials say the because of all the money on the othee side. priorities usa raised an anemic 6.7 some of the top republican aligned groups raised more than 00 million-dollars and have announced plans to quadruple that with a goal of 400 mmllion to defeet the presiient in 2012. the president's top campaign aides say against that tidal wave of spending they can't would seem to threaten the ve - p

new figures reveal a tsunami of superpac money is helping romney but to shows it may not be enough. reports from wyatt andrews and dean reynolds. the massacre in syria. a key u.s. senator tells us the time for the u.s. to take action is now. bill whitaker sits down with a survivor of the deadly avalanche in washington state. >> i definitely have the fear that this could be the way i ended. >> reporter: and john glenn tells bill plante about the moment america held its breath. >> looks like a good flight... oh, golden! >> pelley: 50 years ago today. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. on a day america honors our first president, we begin with the men battling for the chance to become the 45th. the republican candidates for g.o.p. nomination. mitt romney is in a bit of trouble, trailing rick santorum in national polls and in polls in his home state of michigan. but don't count him out just yet. one reason, in a word, money. new figures just out from the federal election commission showed that a superpac supporting romn

i'm sorry, this is romney's superpac. >> this is romney's. >> restore our future superpac. 86% of the000. >> some of these quote, unquote disclosures and filings are contradictions in terms. because it turns out there's no information in them. >> right. the labels and the names are kind of these prop organizations. and so these so-called filings don't always show who's actually giving the money. >> sometimes it's a corporation with a p.o. box that gave $1 million in provo, utah. >> "the new york times" story was awesome about that. it was transparent. we tracked down this p.o. box and we went there and waited for someone to show up. not really. they but they talked about the difficulties of finding people. they call it disclosure but really even trained campaign reporters looking at these things don't have any idea what a lot of them mean. >> i think it's so remarkable to think about what -- we are in the midst of seeing something that's a seismic shift. i don't think you can overstate. the only thing restraining us right now are habits, status quo and old norms that will fall by the

plus the superpacs.>> i didn't say that. >> i thought you did. i said the superpacs are running a lot more negative ads. go back and check and see what percentage was run by superpacs. a lot of material on newt gingrich that voters either did not remember or never knew about his record and about his baggage and about the fact he could not win a general election against president obama. so that is fair game in politics. >> you're going to do the same thing in michigan? you're going to do the same thing to santorum in michigan? go ahead, foster. >> i am just eager to see santorum more and more known by the voters. i think he was going out of iowa with press people saying he could be the first time a blue collar candidate was proposed by the republicans. he spoke to the need of getting these fellows hired back on the small towns where employment has gone away because it's gone to china. because of our high tax rate. so rick's idea to take the tax rate down to zero to these manufacturing workers endears him

new figures just out from the federal election commission showed that a superpac supporting romney is raising and spending millions. we asked wyatt andrews to tell us how all that money is changing the race. >> florida, you're the best! >> reporter: superpacss and the candidates' campaigns are not supposed to coordinate, but last month, the superpac supporting mitt romney spent big when he needed it big. >> gingrich even teamed up with nancy pelosi and al gore on global warming! >> reporter: and what romney needed in january were attacks on newt gingrich. the superpac called "restore our future" spent $14 million on romney's behalf in january, most of that to buy anti-gingrich t.v. ads in florida. >> newt was fined $300,000 for ethics violations. >> reporter: the spending in florida is significant because according to most estimates the superpac outspend the campaign on television advertising. that helped romney come from nine points behind gingrich to win the primary. "restore our future" also raised $6.6 million in january from companies and individuals legally able to give six-figu

stephen cole beer and john stewart recently set up a superpac to mock and denounce superpacs." host: we are going to be talking about superpacs with dave levinthal. he will be taking your calls and e-mails and tweets. back to the phones in miami. you are on air. caller: my name is diana. it wrecks that is our governor. -- rick scott is our governor. it we need to train -- we need to train in orlando. host: why do you think the governor has control over whether or not you get the train? caller: he did have control over it and nobody got any jobs because the train did not come in. a lot of people would have gotten the jobs. also, also, the government is kind of late because people on workmen's compensation have been on workmen's compensation for 25 or 30 years and they have worked in the county and different places like that. i am out there 25 years. a man who is out there 23 -- he just got paid. i am 59. i have worked in corrections. i feel like something should have been done. the last governor was not a good governor, mr. bush. now, this governor is passing us by, also. host: