With President Obama's move to support the super PAC Priorities USA Action comes a return to the soft money era that McCain-Feingold was supposed to have banished from politics. Politico's Byron Tau writes, "It also opens to the door to a kind of influence peddling that was banned a decade ago under a landmark campaign finance law -- with ramifications that go far beyond the scope of the Citizens United case that the White House professes to disdain. By granting permission for White House staffers and Cabinet secretaries to appear at super PAC events, the White House has returned to a system where corporate donors, unions and other wealthy individuals are able to pay big money for access to policymakers, lawmakers and key administration aides."
So far, four cabinet secretaries have stated that they would consider appearing at a Priorities USA Action fundraiser. They are Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk.
The pro-transparency group the Sunlight Foundation is responding to this by calling on the White House and cabinet departments to figure out a way to disclose the appearance of cabinet secretaries at super PAC events, "If the President is going to let his cabinet be involved in raising huge sums of money from individual contributors, he should at least make that process transparent. The President should lean on Priorities USA, who should disclose top officials' attendance at fundraisers. He should also require White House officials and Cabinet Secretaries to disclose their attendance at fundraisers somewhere as part of their schedule, as the President himself does (see "campaign activity"). The Hatch Act may create some difficulties in finding the right mechanism for this disclosure, but we need a better answer than total secrecy."
Another super PAC issue that may have gone overlooked: they could potentially outbid campaigns for precious television air time in the run-up to elections.
Mitt Romney is going back to the tried-and-true method of super PAC annihilation in the up-coming primary states. His super PAC has bought around $500,000 of air time in Michigan and is buying time in Georgia, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Romney has had difficulty winning states outside of the northeast without massive super PAC spending sliming his opponents.
In connection with the announcement of their Truth Team the Obama campaign released a series of videos providing talking points to supporters on a variety of issues. You can see them in our Ad Watch section below.
AD WATCH
Help us populate our list of campaign videos. Send any notable TV, radio or web ads that you see to Fundrace. Send your submissions to paulblumenthal@huffingtonpost.com.
Committee: Barack Obama for President
Spot: "Keeping His Word: Community College Partnership Program"
Market: YouTube.
Buy: None. Just a web video.
Committee: Barack Obama for President
Spot: "Keeping His Word: Credit Card Reform"
Market: YouTube.
Buy: None. Just a web video.
Committee: Barack Obama for President
Spot: "Keeping His Word: Making College Affordable"
Market: YouTube.
Buy: None. Just a web video.
Committee: Barack Obama for President
Spot: "Keeping His Word: Extending Unemployment Insurance"
Market: YouTube.
Buy: None. Just a web video.
Committee: Barack Obama for President
Spot: "Keeping His Word: Hate Crime Legislation"
Market: YouTube.
Buy: None. Just a web video.
Committee: Barack Obama for President
Spot: "Keeping His Word: Early Childhood Education"
Market: YouTube.
Buy: None. Just a web video.
Committee: Newt Gingrich for President
Spot: "The Decision"
Market: YouTube.
Buy: None. Just a web video.
Committee: Republican National Committee
Candidate Opposed: Barack Obama
Spot: "My Daughter's Future"
Market: YouTube.
Buy: None. Just a web video.
Committee: American Future Fund
Candidate Opposed: Claire McCaskill
Spot: "Obama Birth-Control Mandate"
Market: Missouri.
Buy: Undisclosed.
Committee: Democratic National Committee
Candidate Supported: Barack Obama
Spot: "Contraception"
Market: YouTube.
Buy: None. Just a web video.
Committee: Democratic National Committee
Candidate Opposed: Mitt Romney
Spot: "Mitt Romney: Then And Now"
Market: YouTube.
Buy: None. Just a web video.
Committee: Richard Mourdock for Senate
Candidate Opposed: Sen. Dick Lugar
Spot: "Earmarks"
Market: Indiana.
Buy: Undisclosed.
Committee: David Dewhurst for Senate
Spot: "Taking On Washington"
Market: Texas.
Buy: Undisclosed.
TRACKING INDEPENDENT SPENDING IN THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE:
These numbers represent spending by independent groups, like super PACs and non-profits, to support or oppose a particular candidate for the presidency in 2012. Fundrace will update this spending daily to help show which candidates are gaining from the proliferation of independent groups in this coming election.
Newt Gingrich (R), $5,226,377 to support, $17,294,597 to oppose. (+$55,295)
Mitt Romney (R), $2,216,953 to support, $5,073,154 to oppose. (+$95)
Rick Perry (R), $4,167,697 to support, $1,404 to oppose.
Ron Paul (R), $3,672,062 to support, $133,333 to oppose. (+$7,862)
Rick Santorum (R), $2,280,326 to support, $397,503 to oppose. (+$32,399)
Jon Huntsman (R), $2,453,204 to support, $0 to oppose.
Barack Obama (D), $275,406 to support, $759,200 to oppose. (Support: +$250,938; Oppose: +$23,470)
Herman Cain (R), $501,717 to support, $954 to oppose.
Gary Johnson (R), $518 to support, $0 to oppose.
RECENT INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES
Endorse Liberty, $1,232 to support Ron Paul for President.
Restore Our Future, $55,200 to oppose Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum for President in Washington, D.C.
NARAL Pro-Choie, $250,938 to support Barack Obama for President.
NARAL Pro-Choice, $95 to oppose Mitt Romney for President.
NARAL Pro-Choice, $95 to oppose Newt Gingrich for President.
Endorse Liberty, $6,629 to support Ron Paul for President.
RECENT POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE REGISTRATIONS
NONE.
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