Super PACs–Have We Created a Monster?

COMMENTARY | In January of 2010 the New York Times reported a Supreme Court ruling on a case known as Citizens United vs. The Federal Election Commission. The ruling now allows for independent unions and corporations to spend money campaigning for political candidates. This has led to the political monster we fear known as Super PACs.

The only constraint on these “independent” organizations seems to be that they are not allowed to coordinate directly with a campaign, but clearly “guilty by association” does not apply. The latest Super PAC to make a difference in the GOP primary campaign first reared its ugly head in the state of Iowa. Restore our Future , began to run a series of ads in the days before the caucus, which Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s campaign blames in part for his failure in the state. Who runs this Super PAC, you ask? According to the PR Watch it is none other than Carl Forti, former campaign strategist for the Romney campaign.

The most intimidating thing about these PACs is their ability to spend and raise money far beyond the ability of most individual campaigns under the law. There are no limits on how much or who can contribute.

Some speculate that this will lead to nastier campaigns, since a candidate can’t be held accountable for what an independent organization will say on a campaigns behalf. If there are lies and slander involved, after all, the campaign can simply disavow them. This, however, remains to be seen. Though the campaign can easily denounce such slanderous ads, it’s doubtful whether the American voter will buy the excuse. It does eliminate a lot of accountability from a legal standpoint, however, and that raises concerns.

This being said the Super PACs could prove to be a dangerous tool of corporations and special interests. Nothing, however, is more dangerous than what we already have: the uninformed voter. I would not pay much mind to this phenomenon, only because I don’t pay much mind to ads in general. Any candidate can create an ad campaign. The real challenge should be to have it live up to scrutiny.

Instead of watching ads and listening to campaign speeches, perhaps we should learn to better be informed on the issues and the track record of the candidate. Perhaps Super PACs more than ever prove how vital it is to check the facts and do your research. Education is surely the greatest weapon against such a monster to democracy.

Lisa Graves, “Mitt Romney’s Super Friends Take Aim Through the Restore Our Future Super Pac” PR Watch
Trip Gabriel, “Gingrich says he’s been ‘Romney Boated’” NY Times


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