A couple of weeks ago, there was a buzz about a new Super PAC that had been organized to support Ron Paul’s presidential campaign (a Super PAC is called “super” because it can spend as much money as it wants to, and doesn’t have to reveal where that money came from). The new organization, called the Ron Paul Volunteers PAC, was run by Hector Roos of Miami, Florida. Roos boasted to Politico that his group would be spending large amounts of money in the Iowa caucses – “six figures” to help Ron Paul, and would be focusing on sending direct mail to voters in Iowa.
Hector Roos and the Ron Paul Volunteers PAC that he founded appear to be involved in a genuine grassroots effort (though it’s wise to be suspicious with Super PACs, given that you never can be sure where the money really comes from). They chat on Meetups about how to help Ron Paul. The web site of the Ron Paul Volunteers PAC seems spare, and encourages people to help Ron Paul by doing little things like leaving Ron Paul promotional business cards on restaurant tables after eating. Hector Roos himself is no great power broker. He’s a college student at Florida International University.
Apologists for the new independent expenditure system of campaign finance say that the unlimited spending of money from unknown sources to support or oppose particular presidential candidates is just a form of free speech. They say that anyone can set up a Super PAC and organize with people of like minds to powerfully influence the presidential election.
The Ron Paul Volunteers PAC shows that it’s not that easy. The Ron Paul Volunteers PAC has been a failure – or has been breaking the rules. FEC records show that there have been no independent expenditures from the Ron Paul Volunteers PAC. Any FEC reports on independent expenditures released today would go back to Super PAC spending from just a couple of days ago, and a two days is not enough time for a direct mail effort to have an impact in the Iowa caucuses. The Iowa caucuses are taking place tonight.
The difference between the failed Ron Paul Volunteers PAC and the performance of the shadowy Endorse Liberty Inc. PAC exposes the truth about independent expenditures. They aren’t democratic. They’re engines of economic power.
Independent expenditures are easy tools for wealthy individuals and big corporate powers to use, because they have the money to simply hire veteran professionals to create effective campaign mechanisms. Independent expenditures are nearly impossible for people at the bottom of the economic ladder – people like college students – to use effectively, because independent expenditures require money to work. People at the bottom of the economic ladder tend not to have powerful friends with lots of money who are willing to donate large amounts to political campaign efforts.
The new system of independent, unaccountable campaign spending thus takes our nation’s most serious economic problem – a huge chasm between a small number of wealthy elites and the rest of us – and makes it worse. It takes economic inequality, and amplifies it by making the political process more economic and less democratic.
We still each have our individual right to free speech, of course, but these days, individuals exercising their right to free speech are increasingly likely to get pepper sprayed. The anonymous elites behind Super PACs like Endorse Liberty, Inc. don’t have that problem.
Looks like we’re starting off 2012 in environmentally prophetic ways:
http://www.youtube.com/user/dutchsinse#p/u/2/qBTrIokm6zY
In no way was the PAC formed to influence Iowa politics – only Florida. Why even come up with a Super PAC then? It was easier than other PAC types.
While it has ended up being that the PAC has gone in a different direction there have been a lot of endeavors by other people who spun off on their own to really make a great impact locally. A lot of this doesn’t reach the requirement of the PAC to issue independent expenditure forms. This concept is perhaps a failure to launch rather than a failure to get anything done. A lot has been done on the ground. Let’s see the results on the 31st to see how well we did.
Should other people try forming their own Super PAC? Sure! It’s easy and your right. It lets you open a bank account with non-taxable funds that can be used for political advocacy. It’s a good deal.
The whole purpose of the PAC was to make a local fundraising efforts easier but our scope has always been limited. Unfortunately, a limited scope also leaves limited fundraising. You can imagine the success of other Super PACs for Ron Paul comes because they sought to achieve larger scale goals such as media buys rather than just organize grassroots.
P.S. Do you always reference people and not ask for a comment? I was sent word about this post today. I know your goal was to show Super PACs in a bad light but there are other uses for PACs, too, other than big, non-taxable bank accounts.
The last 2 paragraphs about “making the political process more economic and less democratic” really nail it. Money is not “free speech” when the person with the money is not the one doing the writing and speaking.
Oh Ron Paul, at least you’ll get more votes than AmericansElect even without the Republican nomination. Let me guess, the literature that the volunteers are Not coordinating with Ron Paul does Not contain racist fear mongering ? So there is some benefit to separation, haha.