Editorial: Obama takes super PAC low road
President Barack Obama delivering his first State of the Union address in 2010, when he scolded the U.S. Supreme Court for its Citizens United decision. Credit: AFP/GETTY IMAGES/MANDEL NGAN
It's no surprise that President Barack Obama has descended into the swamp of super PAC money, even though he previously took the high road against that sort of unregulated political spending. It's only a matter of time before he would be caught in the arms race. Republican super PACs -- now pouring tens of millions of dollars into viciously effective attack ads aimed at competing GOP presidential candidates -- will soon turn their fire on him.
But before launching his re-election bid, Obama called the super PACs' unlimited, anonymous fundraising and spending a threat to democracy. In his 2010 State of the Union speech, he castigated U.S. Supreme Court justices for their Citizens United decision, which championed free speech but loosed a mudslide of political spending by corporations, unions and other special interests.
So Obama deserves to be called out on his about face this week. His campaign is now urging wealthy donors to give to Priorities USA Action, a super PAC led by two of his former aides. The president's clear identification with the group -- like the recent Stephen Colbert-Jon Stewart parody -- exposes the supposed legal requirement that super PACs be independent as a laughable fiction.
Voters need to know who's bankrolling these free spending campaigns. With complete and timely disclosure, the public would at least be able to identify the special interests looking to curry favor with the president and the foes battling to supplant him.
