Talk Radio News Service

Obama’s Super PAC Excuse Falls Flat

The Obama 2012 team’s decision to throw their support behind a Super PAC was met with very little umbrage, either in the press or among the President’s allies.

Most acknowledged the irony of a stalwart Super PAC critic climbing in bed with the enemy, but ultimately accepted the campaign’s justification at face value: that the political realities of 2012 meant that they had no other choice but to embrace the organization and hope they can catch up to the competition.

However, grounding the decision in political realities and then calling it a day isn’t really fair, considering the Obama White House has refused to extend the same courtesy to those on the other side of the aisle.

It wasn’t too long ago that President Obama would frequently blast Republicans critical of the Recovery Act for accepting stimulus funds.

“[Rick] Perry helped balance his budget with about $6 billion worth of federal help which he happily took,” Obama said during an interview last April with the Dallas station WFAA. “Then [he] started blaming the members of Congress who had offered that help.”

Prior to that, the President used the anniversary of the $787 billion piece of legislation to offer a broader swipe against its critics.

“There are those … across the aisle who have tried to score political points by attacking what we did, even as many of them show up at ribbon-cutting ceremonies for projects in their districts,” Obama argued.

Like warming up to Super PACs, accepting stimulus funds is a recognition of a political reality. If constituents’ dollars are going towards a massive program, members of Congress have an obligation to procure at least some piece of the pie for their districts, regardless of where they  stood when it came time to cast their vote.

I’m no fan of Super PACs and firmly believe the Citizens United ruling put any fantasies of someday having a somewhat civil election to rest, but this kind of cognitive dissonance in American politics really makes me cringe. If bowing to political realities is verboten for one party, it’s clear that it should be for the President as well. As Obama’s Campaign Manager said when announcing the Super PAC decision, “we can’t allow for two sets of rules in this election.”