--- title: The Secret Meanings Behind the Names of Presidential Super PACs description: The names of presidential super PACs are like secret decoder rings for the campaign themes the candidates will run on. canonical: https://time.com/3684498/presidential-super-pacs-names/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-27T20:58:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T03:55:03.797Z article:section: Politics og:title: The Secret Meanings Behind the Names of Presidential Super PACs og:description: They provide clues to the themes the candidates will run on. og:url: https://time.com/3684498/presidential-super-pacs-names/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta61f79114d536b71/69877c38cd1bba5e2d6f4e48/scott-walker1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Conservative Activists And Leaders Attend The Iowa Freedom Summit og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Secret Meanings Behind the Names of Presidential Super PACs twitter:description: They provide clues to the themes the candidates will run on. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta61f79114d536b71/69877c38cd1bba5e2d6f4e48/scott-walker1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Secret Meanings Behind the Names of Presidential Super PACs by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Jan 27, 2015 8:58 PM UTC  Scott Walker, governor of Wisconsin, waves to the crowd during the Iowa Freedom Summit in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 24, 2015. Scott Walker, governor of Wisconsin, waves to the crowd during the Iowa Freedom Summit in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 24, 2015.Daniel Acker—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Jan 27, 2015 8:58 PM UTC Long before the campaign buttons and bumper stickers, today’s presidential candidates must create an outside fundraising committee. And while they aren’t always in total control of these groups, the names can be secret decoder rings that explain the central themes of the campaigns they are preparing. Here’s a look at the names of five groups backing 2016 candidates and what they might signal. **Right to Rise** **What is it?** A [leadership PAC and a separate super PAC](http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/Decoder-Buzz/2015/0106/Jeb-Bush-launches-Right-to-Rise-PAC.-What-does-name-mean-video) **Who does it benefit?** Former Republican Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida **Where does the name come from?** The “right to rise” was [coined by a historian](http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323476304578197613213918112) to describe President Lincoln’s views on economic opportunity. After Rep. Paul Ryan used the phrase, Bush [wrote a guest editorial](http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203893404577100330414585006) about it in the Wall Street _Journal_ in 2011. **What’s it mean?** The name is a sign that Bush intends to focus on pocketbook issues for the middle class, which has been stuck with stagnant wages for more than a decade. The fact he embraced the term was also a key tipoff that Ryan was not going to run. **Our American Revival** **What is it?** A tax-exempt 527 organization **Who does it benefit?** Republican Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin **Where does the name come from?** Walker used the phrase [“our American revival”](http://time.com/3676964/state-of-the-union-2015-barack-obama-republicans/) in a recent statement critiquing President Obama’s State of the Union speech. **What’s it mean?** The term “revival” has religious undertones that Walker, [a preacher’s kid](http://time.com/3661461/elizabeth-warren-janitors-kid/), surely recognizes. It’s also a sign he intends to run as a bold, populist counterpoint to Obama’s tenure in Washington. **Leadership Matters for America** **What is it?** [A political action committee](http://time.com/3682018/chris-christie-2016-presidential-election-white-house-republican-pac/) **Who does it benefit?** Republican Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey **Where does the name come from?** Christie used the phrase [“leadership matters”](http://www.npr.org/2012/08/28/160213518/transcript-gov-chris-christies-convention-speech) during his 2012 keynote speech at the Republican presidential convention for Mitt Romney. **What’s it mean?** Christie is running on his own personality and leadership style. He intends to highlight his time as governor as well as his brash and sometimes confrontational style to contrast himself with Obama and his Republican opponents. **Stand for Principle** **What is it?** [A super PAC](http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/run-2016/2014/11/14/ted-cruz-gets-a-2016-super-pac) **Who does it benefit?** Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas **Where does the name come from?** In [a 2014 speech](http://www.politico.com/story/2014/03/ted-cruz-cpac-2014-104345.html) before the Conservative Political Action Conference, Cruz argued that Republicans need to “stand for principle” in order to win elections. **What’s it mean?** Cruz intends to run as the conservative choice among the Republican field, with an orthodoxy at the center of his message that will contrast him against past nominees such as Mitt Romney and John McCain, not to mention current contenders like Christie and Bush. **Ready for Hillary** **What is it?** [A super PAC](http://time.com/17057/hillary-clinton-2016-super-pac-ready/) **Who does it benefit?** Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton **Where does the name come from?** The super PAC was formed by Clinton supporters to [build lists of grassroots supporters](http://time.com/17057/hillary-clinton-2016-super-pac-ready/) and recruit major donors before she announced a campaign. **What’s it mean?** The name doesn’t portend much about Clinton’s campaign, since she didn’t choose it, at least not personally. But it does take on a central theme of the emerging Clinton juggernaut—the notion that America is now “ready” for a female president and that it’s Clinton’s turn after her 2008 primary loss. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3684498/presidential-super-pacs-names/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3684498/presidential-super-pacs-names/"},"headline":"The Secret Meanings Behind the Names of Presidential Super PACs","datePublished":"2015-01-27T20:58:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:55:03.797Z","description":"The names of presidential super PACs are like secret decoder rings for the campaign themes the candidates will run on.","url":"https://time.com/3684498/presidential-super-pacs-names/","keywords":["2016 Election","Hillary Clinton","2016 Election topic","Chris Christie","Campaign Finance","Scott Walker","ted cruz","jeb bush"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta61f79114d536b71/69877c38cd1bba5e2d6f4e48/scott-walker1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ryan Teague Beckwith","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta61f79114d536b71/69877c38cd1bba5e2d6f4e48/scott-walker1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Conservative Activists And Leaders Attend The Iowa Freedom Summit","caption":"Conservative Activists And Leaders Attend The Iowa Freedom Summit","creditText":"Daniel Acker—Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3684498/presidential-super-pacs-names/","name":"The Secret Meanings Behind the Names of Presidential Super PACs"}}]}] ```