Is the U.S. presidency for sale?
February 7, 2012 3:37 PM
If there's one part of the American economy that's not hurting, it's Big Politics.
Election years are always kind to campaign strategists, pollsters and, especially, television stations. Someone has to air those ever-more vicious attack ads.
The 2012 campaign will probably inject about $6 billion into the system for presidential, congressional and Senate elections.
That's a record in itself but the real surge in spending is thanks to the so-called super PACs, a free-wheeling variation on the more regulated, single-issue political action committees that dot the landscape here.
Unleashed by two U.S. Supreme Court rulings in 2010, super PACs are expected to raise and spend a billion or two on their own.
Newt Gingrich's hopes have effectively been kept alive by his super PAC, Winning Our Future, supported almost entirely by the uber-wealthy Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, whose own politics are driven by a strong pro-Israel stance.
When Barack Obama first ran for president back in 2008, super PACs didn't exist. Now they look to transform the very nature of American politics.
Millionaires, billionaires, even foreign companies and, with some tricks, foreign governments could all donate. And, again with some tricks, could hide their identities.
"Of course the question is what are the interests behind these PACS," Thomas Mann, a governance expert at the Brookings Institute told me. "Who is putting up the money? What kind of corrupting impact will it have in garnering favourable public policy decisions? It's not a pretty sight."
"Most democracies prevent vast sums of corporate and group wealth from having a disproportionate impact on an election," Mann says. In the U.S., he adds, "we have struggled with that."
Super PACs are allowed to raise unlimited sums on behalf of a candidate or a cause, but considered independent, they are not supposed to coordinate directly with a candidate or political party.
President Obama opposes super PACs, or at least did at one time, but he is now getting one of his own, Priorities USA.
The president opposed the Supreme Court rulings back in 2010, but as the White House press secretary says: "The rules are what they are. The campaign has made clear they can't compete ... effectively if there are two sets of rules"
One of the secrets to Obama's success in 2008 was his ability to collect about $750 million from, primarily, a vast network of small donors.
In 2012, the Republicans likely have the fundraising advantage because of super PACs.
They've already raised tens of millions, much, much more than Obama's super PAC. And when the Republican candidates are done bashing each other with expensive attack ads, they'll undoubtedly use their treasure chest to target the president.
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From the Iowa caucuses to the White House. Meet our blog team of CBC News reporters and producers who will be helping you stay abreast of the U.S. presidential election 2012.
