Super PACs — what good are they?

Can anyone tell me what is so great about these Super Political Action Committees? They didn’t really exist during the last presidential election in 2008. In 2010, a Supreme Court ruling changed all that, and that decision opened up the biggest, nastiest can of dead worms the nation had ever seen.

Before the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, political action committees were limited in their scope. Unions and corporations were not allowed to contribute money. There were caps on just how much money could be raised. The decision in favor of Citizens United changed all that and much more.

The legal gymnastics that the court went through to render that decision would have put a tied a real-life gymnast in a bow with a double twist. The glaring result was that unions and corporations could unload millions into their causes or candidates with no limits. It also gave birth to the notion that corporations were people too. Sound familiar?

The ruling opened a floodgate of advertisements on television and radio, a good many of them negative. Well, let’s be honest here — a lot were, and still are — downright nasty. Some are so bad as to actually hurt the very candidate they were made for. The real kicker is that the candidates themselves have no control over what these Super PACs do in their names or causes. That has brought about more than few black eyes on both sides of the aisle.

We have all seen this happen: an attack ad backfires and the candidate goes into a new dance that I call the” D.C. Moonwalk.” As the candidate in question backpedals to distance himself from the blow his own supporters have put out on the air in an overt act of overzealousness, all the while saying, “I have no control over what they do.”

The biggest question I have is do we really need them at all? The 2012 presidential campaign is already turned toxic all on its own without the so-called help of the Super PACs. Do we really need more of this? Are you as sick and tired of the flood of these ads by these groups as I am? Can we go back to way it was before this mess erupted in our collective face?

OK, that was more than just one question, but you get my drift. At least I hope you do. This campaign has gone from bad to worse in just a few short months. Throw in what these Super PACs have adding to it all and it goes into a toxic mode that a fully geared HAZMAT team will be needed to try to clean up the entire quagmire.

They have way too much power now. The Super PACs have far too much money for our own good. They seem only out to make elections a muckraking nightmare. They also seem to be a means of supporting candidates with a less than stellar character and even worse ethics.

Basically, the whole notion of the Super PAC stinks to high heaven, and it’s a stench that rivals an entire field of sheep dip. Take these ads they put out with a truckload of salt.

Please note that advertisements made by the candidates always end with, “I’m (insert name here) and I approve this message.” The ones put out by the PACs and Super PACs do not.

I think we really need to rethink the notion of the Super PAC. I know this may be a case of shutting the gate after the entire herd of mad cows has escaped, but perhaps we need to do a major roundup, herd them back to the pen and lock the gate. Then, throw the key down the deepest well.

Think about it. Do we really need them around? The rules now for elections have been twisted more times than a pretzel. It defies all logic. No matter the cause, party or candidate, Super PACs have left a sour taste and a stench that will be hard to remove. I say it is well past time for them to go away. Give the elections back to the people for whom they really serve.

Wasilla resident Daniel D. Grota retired from the U.S. Army after more than 21 years of service.