America's New Super Pac Politics

Unraveling Newt Gingrich's hypocrisies is not unlike peeling an onion--there are so many layers that you can't help but cry and give up the task. Here are the first few layers of Newt's latest multiple-flip-flop: Recall that Gingrich was a stout defender of Citizens United, the right-wing group that precipitated the infamous Supreme Court decision that opened the way to Super PACs, and that Newt allegedly used millions of dollars from his now-defunct Super PAC, American Solutions for Winning the Future, to fly around the country promoting himself, although candidates are supposed to be divorced from these new campaign monstrosities.

Then, a few days ago, a newly "positive" Gingrich decided to make a principled stand against the impact of Super PAC politics. He whined about the effect that Romney's Super PAC was having in Iowa by airing negative ads against Newt. Romney should be able to "influence" the group, Newt declared with his usual self-righteous certainty. How, he thundered, could Romney hope to influence Congress or even China or Russia if he couldn't get get his Super PAC in hand? "The only person who profits from Republican ads attacking other Republicans is Barack Obama and I think it is pretty reprehensible behavior on the part of some of the candidates," Gingrich added. ("It's against the law" to coordinate with one's Super Pac, Romney reasonably countered).

Well, now Newt has apparently decided that Romney is right--or at least that it's impossible after all to control one's Super PAC. His own new group, Strong America Now, is calling "Romney is the second most dangerous man in America" after Obama. Nothing negative about that, I guess.

Newt Gingrich, there's a steady man for you.

What this really demonstrates is that not even the candidates understand any longer how the new Super PAC machine created by the Citizens United decision is upending American politics. What the Super PACs are already doing to twist Iowa's much-touted grassroots caucus process out of shape is only an early sign of what's to come ...


(Picture credit: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/11/18/super-pac-man-gobbles-up-regulators%E2%80%99-time-patience/)