Since 2010, Super PAC groups have contributed to an explosion in political campaign donations.
These groups are so controversial that President Barack Obama has spoken out against them.
And 2016 presidential hopeful, Bernie Sanders, has refused to accept their money.
So what are Super PACs?
And what are they doing to the political process?
Well, the term PAC is an acronym that stands for Political Action Committee.
PACs are a way for businesses, labor unions, and other special interest groups to pool
donations for a specific campaign.
Regular PACs, which are different from Super PACS, have been donating to campaigns since
1944.
But PACs have significant financial restrictions.
Corporations aren’t allowed to contribute, and PACs can only give up to $5,000 dollars
per candidate and $15,000 dollars per national party.
Additionally, individuals cannot contribute more than $5,000 dollars to a PAC per year.
But in 2010, a supreme court ruling known as Citizens United said that restricting corporate
political donations was in violation of freedom of speech.
Legally, it was argued that “spending IS speech” - even if the speaker is a corporation.
This led to the creation of Super PACs.
Essentially, Super PACs are allowed to give unlimited funds - from people, corporations,
and unions.
The only rule is that Super PACs must operate independently of candidates, however this
rule is often skirted.
The top super PAC during the 2012 presidential campaign raised more than $153 million dollars,
and contributed indirectly to Republican campaigns.
By comparison, the top regular PAC raised a mere $3.9 million in donations.
So why are super PACs controversial?
Well, the lack of restriction means that wealthy special interest groups and individuals are
able to exert significant influence over political campaigns.
Additionally, even though Super PACs are required to be independent organizations, they are
regularly operated by people close to the candidate.
This practice was famously satirized by comedian Stephen Colbert.
In 2012, he ran for President in the South Carolina primaries, and named his affiliated
Super PAC, “The Definitely Not Coordinating with Stephen Colbert Super PAC”.
Since the rise of Super PACs, many have called for significant campaign finance reform.
The 2012 elections set new records in campaign spending.
The upcoming 2016 elections will undoubtedly break those records, while lessening the average
citizen’s influence in their own political future.
If you’d like to get even more frustrated with the American political process… make
sure you check out our video about gerrymandering here.
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