Monday, February 01, 2016

Bernie's "Super-PAC" Claims Are Disingenuous

In his latest Iowa species, Bernie Sanders is claiming he made the decision not to have a Super-PAC in his campaign -- inferring that his opponents, primarily Hillary Clinton, did create a Super-PAC. That may sound good to his supporters (and other opposing the misguided Citizens United decision of the Supreme Court), but it ignores the current campaign law -- and misleads voters.

The fact is that NO candidate can form a Super-PAC. Super-PACs are formed by outside groups -- and it is illegal for that Super-PAC to coordinate with the candidate's campaign in any way. The Super-PACs may spend collect and spend money to support a candidate, but they cannot have a working relationship with that candidate's campaign organization. That means that NO candidate of either party has created a Super-PAC.

Sanders also tries to give the impression that, while their are Super-PACs supporting Hillary Clinton, there aren't any supporting him. That is not true either. There are at least three Super-PACs supporting Sanders' campaign -- two from progressive organizations and one from a nurses union. I know that some of his supporters will claim he didn't want Super-PAC support, but the fact is that he does have it. And trying to give the impression that he doesn't is just not honest.

Bernie (and his supporters) like to question the honesty and trustworthiness of Hillary Clinton. I think his talk about Super-PACs raises the same questions about him. He has shown a willingness to mislead voters.

1 comment:

  1. didn't you forget to mention the two republican based super pacs, america rising and american crossroads who are also supporting bernie during the primaries?

    ReplyDelete

ANONYMOUS COMMENTS WILL NOT BE PUBLISHED. And neither will racist,homophobic, or misogynistic comments. I do not mind if you disagree, but make your case in a decent manner.