Kaine super PAC proposal: No secret money

The third Senate Super PAC proposal of the cycle comes from Tim Kaine.

A day after the revelation of a Super PAC forming to assist George Allen, the presumptive Democratic Senate nominee in Virginia has sent a letter to his GOP opponent in an attempt to sideline the infusion of outside anonymous money.

Kaine's pitch is not as stringent as the Massachusetts pact, which institute penalties for any outside money spent on behalf of a candidate.

Rather, the former governor and Democratic National Committee chairman is requesting Allen agree to what he dubs "a simple rule": No secret money.

"Let's commit that any group running ads or conducting electoral activity for either of us should have to disclose their donors," Kaine wrote Allen in a letter first shared with POLITICO. "Virginia voters are entitled to know who is funding this campaign. Contributions directly to either of us are already disclosed. But, the third parties filling the airways get to hide behind a cloak of secrecy."

Read Kaine's entire letter HERE.

While Kaine makes clear that his preference is to eliminate Super PACs altogether, his letter references a December debate exchange where Allen rejected the chance to "eliminate any involvement by outside groups in this campaign."

But Allen also indicated that he favored Virginia's campaign finance laws, saying at the debate, "I like Virginia's approach, Virginia laws that are based on full disclosure and freedom."

Even if Allen does agree to Kaine's pitch, negotiations over the complex details could blow up the agreement. How to define what money is "secret" could be difficult, especially when most outside groups have national fundraising bases and spend in a multitude of states.

In his letter, Kaine said if Allen agrees to the broad concept of banning "secret money," the campaigns can sit down and hash out the specific rules for accomplishing the goal.

To date, two outside groups have taken flight with advertising in the Virginia Senate race. Crossroads GPS and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have devoted $1.5 million of advertising in favor of Allen and against Kaine.

The Independence Virginia Political Action Committee told POLITICO Monday it planned to add to that anti-Kaine spending, pledging to raise between $2 and $3 million to assist Allen's bid.

Sen. Jon Tester and Rep. Denny Rehberg in Montana failed to reach consensus on their own Super PAC agreement earlier this year.

Allen's campaign did not immediately return an inquiry seeking comment.