Are Super PACs Harming U.S. Politics? >
Super PACs Are a Form of Political Participation
There is nothing wrong with presenting the voting public with more information
January 13, 2012
About David N. Bossie:
David N. Bossie is the president of Citizens United and Citizens United Productions.
Nearly two years ago, in Citizens United v. FEC, the United States Supreme Court restored the right to free political speech for individuals coming together through corporations (like Citizens United) and unions. In the wake of Citizens United, we have seen the rise of super PACs and their ability to speak to voters about candidates directly, without having their message controlled by a campaign or party.
[Super PACs Defining the 2012 Presidential Race.]
This increase in political speech is helping the American political system, not harming it. As we've seen the Republican nomination process unfold, super PACs are bringing messages to voters in key states to help them assess the records and accomplishments of the candidates for president. The voting public deserves more information with which to make a decision as weighty as whom to elect as the next leader of the Free World.
But, like every other election year before it, members of the media are lamenting the amount of money being spent in this year's election because they have lost the power to control the message. President Barack Obama plans to raise and spend a billion dollars on his re-election campaign. No Republican candidate will come close to matching that number, so some independent super PACs have set out ambitious goals to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to help counter the Obama campaign juggernaut.
[Mogul Gives $5 Million to Pro-Gingrich Group.]
The truth is that nearly $2 billion are going to be spent, with or without super PACs. Super PACs are simply another way for Americans to participate in our political system. If certain politicians, members of the media, or the public at large are disturbed about the number of ads on TV or their content, they should change the channel or run an ad in response--not deny groups the freedom to air their messages and the public the opportunity to hear them. Such censorship would truly damage the American political process.
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Yes — Super PACs make it harder and harder for the voice of the average American to be heard
BERNIE SANDERS, Junior United States Senator from Vermont
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Yes — We need to fix not only flawed FEC decisions enabling super PACs but Citizens United itself
ROBERT WEISSMAN, President of Public Citizen
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Yes — There is an alarming lack of transparency that allows "independent" groups to spend tens of millions
DANIELLE BRIAN, Executive Director of the Project On Government Oversight
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No — Super PACs fund political speech and are protected under he First Amendment
JOHN SAMPLES, Director of the Center for Representative Government at the Cato Institute
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No — Super PACs allow citizens to take advantage of fast-breaking developments
BRADLEY A. SMITH, Chairman of the Center for Competitive Politics
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No — Super PACs have less influence than we think
JENNIFER MARSICO, Senior Research Associate at the American Enterprise Institute
