The Washington Post and New York Times never tire of telling us how evil the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision is. It "tore down a century’s worth of law aimed at reducing the amount of corruption in our electoral system," The Washington Post's E.J. Dionne whines. Apparently Dionne and his campaign finance zealot brethren believe Citizens United forever corrupted our previously prestine political system since now "a presidential candidacy might be kept alive largely through the generosity of a Las Vegas gambling magnate." The horror.
But where are all the liberal cries about corruption when unions spend millions to help elect President Obama? The Wall Street Journal reports today:
Labor organizations must disclose the amount of money they collect from members for their political-action committees, which are used to make direct contributions to candidates and political parties. They aren't required to disclose how much of their funds they use for much of their own political activities.
...
Some labor unions will continue to be a big force through direct participation in the 2012 presidential election. One of the largest, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, has already spent more than $1 million on television advertisements attacking former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in Republican primary states. AFSCME plans to spend at least $100 million on across-the-board election efforts, up from about $93 million in 2010, though it is unclear how those funds will be divided.
AFSCME spent $300,000 on the ad abive to run in Ohio through election day. It is just one example of the millions in unreported independent expenditures unions will make to help re-elect Obama this year.
Where is Dionne's column asking what the unions are buying with all this campaign cash?
