Stephen Colbert, host of The Colbert Report, is in Washington today to register his new Super PAC with the FEC. As he has said on the show, it’s his intention to have the Colbert Super PAC raise unlimited funds to buy political ads.

But do we really need another shadowy organization out there influencing our politicians? We don’t think so, and we bet you agree with us. We believe that Colbert, and any other Super PAC, must disclose their donors. Our democracy depends on it.

If you love democracy, then you should join us as we demand the information we need to follow the money in politics.

Mr. Colbert, have you no sense of decency? Bears are not the number one threat to America. Undisclosed political spending is.

Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that outside groups that take unlimited political donations from any source, commonly known as Super PACs, can now spend unlimited amounts of money in political campaigns. The Federal Election Commission has yet to set up rules to track this flood of money into the political system, so we’ve made it easy for you to do it yourself. Click here to learn more.

Although we're rounding up our sleuth of transbearency bears to meet Colbert at the FEC and demand disclosure today, we've got more up our sleeves. Stay with us to learn what you can do to help.

Don’t let Big Colbert push around your vote this year. Join Sunlight, follow the money, and take a stand for transparency.

If you follow Sunlight in any capacity, you may have noticed a seemingly innocuous typo slip into our writing of late, a little something called “transbearency.” Today, I am proud to announce that “transbearency” is no accident. It’s a movement.

Allow me to explain...as best I can. It started when the folks at Sunlight heard that the infamous faux-pundit Stephen Colbert decided to take his message of Politics As Usual to Washington, DC on October 30th. His mission? A march to Keep Fear Alive. Colbert claimed that such a march was a necessity:

There are dark, optimistic forces trying to take away our Fear [and] they want to replace our Fear with reason. But never forget — “Reason” is just one letter away from “Treason.” Coincidence? Reasonable people would say it is, but America can’t afford to take that chance.

Maybe we were being sensitive, but this call to action offended us. Reasonable solutions to unreasonable problems in government mark the foundation of the transparency movement. Reason is the...reason that Sunlight builds technology platforms and advocates for policies that make our elected representatives accountable to the folks who elected them.

Rather than feed into his fear-mongering, Sunlight decided it was time to stand up to Colbert by hitting him where it hurts: his fear of bears.

Stephen Colbert is terrified of bears and all their hairy complexity, and we want to send a powerful message his way. So, if you believe that there is nothing to fear about a more accountable government, then I ask you to join Operation Transbearency for the month of October. A few ways you can take part:

• Be a bear online: Change your avatar(s) (like we did) to a bear to show your inner watchbeardog.
• Spread the honey: When you see something delicious, like stories about open data, lobbying reform and campaign ethics, tell your friends and make sure to post about it with a tag for #transbearency (or #opengov) so that your fellow bears can find it.
• Bear with us: Text BEAR to 224866 (“ACTION”) if you’re planning on attending the rally in Washington, DC on October 30th to get info on how to meet up with us (and directions to our post-rally happy hour).
• Really brave? Show up to the rally dressed as a bear. Seriously. The Colbert/Stewart folks have already asked that ralliers come in costume -- it will be Halloween, after all -- we're just asking that you choose a costume that will make a difference. I promise you, we'll be out there in full bear regalia with special swag and surprises for anyone ferocious enough to stand in solidarity.
You may think this is silly, but bears are not silly. They are serious, and so are we. We hope you'll join us on the 30th.

Crowdsourcing makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Think about it: tapping into the ingenuity of your peers to capture the best ideas and information out there? It's a marvelous use of online communication, and it's powering our latest project, Sunlight Campaign Ad Monitor ("Sunlight CAM" for short).

With your help, we're building a resource to track campaign spending this election season, and we're excited that so many of you have decided to be involved. Sunlight CAM has only been live for a week, and already you've submitted over 80 ads, with more added each day from all across the country and the aisle. When you take the three easy steps to report an ad that you saw on television or the Internet or that you've heard over the radio, you provide reporters, bloggers and your peers access to information about who's trying to influence your votes. Now that the DISCLOSE Act has failed in the Senate for the second time, it's more important than ever that we work together to watchdog Washington. The more information you provide about the ads you see or hear, the more information we can dig up about the ad's sponsor.

We're already using the data you've picked up on: Earlier this week, my colleague Lindsay took at look at some of the data you've provided and found some interesting results. Researching one ad by the 60 Plus Association revealed that the organization spent almost half a million dollars of PhRMA-backed money against Pennsylvania Representative Paul Kanjorski in September alone (!).

As we head into the thick of political advertising battles that mark October (a.k.a. The Final Countdown), we urge you to keep your ears and eyes open and to keep those reports coming.

In January, I noted that the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United v. FEC case would open the “floodgates of political money such as we have never seen before.” Since then, Sunlight has continuously pressed Congress to create a more transparent, accountable political disclosure system. We asked for online, real-time transparency provisions in the DISCLOSE Act. But as of today, Congress has failed to pass any legislation in the wake of Citizens United.

While this is disappointing, we're putting the issue of tracking the money into everyone's hands by launching a new website -- Sunlight Campaign Ad Monitor (Sunlight CAM) -- that turns everyone into ad watchdogs. This new site allows anyone to share real-time information on who is buying political ad time in support of or against candidates running for elected office or issues on the ballot. With hundreds of millions of dollars already spent on political advertising and even more expecting to be spent in the final weeks leading up to Election Day, we need everyone to help us keep track of the money. After all, if Congress won't act, we still have to find a way to follow the money -- voters have the right to know what private interests are paying for these ads.

Participating in this distributed research project has just three steps :

1. Identify—When you hear or see a political ad, visit http://SunlightCAM.com on your computer or smart phone.

2. Watchdog—Once you are on the site, note the type of ad your are reporting (radio, TV or Internet), as well as information about the media outlet it appeared on, which politician was mentioned, and if the ad included a “paid for by” line. Your anonymous submission will be added to our online database.

3. Share—Let others know what you find by sharing your reporting with friends on Twitter or Facebook.

We encourage reporters, bloggers and citizens to download the data from the site to do additional research on these ads and funders. Our own Reporting Group will also use Sunlight CAM to assist with its online investigations examining the flow of money in campaigns. And we also welcome the Associated Press Managing Editors association as a media partner for the site.

I am truly excited about this project, but it needs your help to so let’s work together to bring greater transparency to the political ads we see on TV, hear on the radio or watch online.

Join us at Sunlight Campaign Ad Monitor.