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Friends,
Buckle up. Primary elections start in a few weeks.
Primaries have become increasingly important because, as American politics has polarized, most Republican or Democratic candidates who prevail in the primaries will win the general elections — so primary elections are often where the action is.
So, what determines who wins primaries? I’d like to think it’s the quality of the candidates. But while quality certainly plays a part, it’s also the size of their war chests for buying advertising to promote themselves and disparage their opponents.
These war chests depend increasingly on a few big, loathsome super PACs* that usually finance challengers from the right — in both Republican and Democratic primary races.
One of the most important national goals in future years should be to get big money out of politics. (As I’ve written here, we can do it without amending the Constitution or waiting for the Supreme Court to reverse Citizens United.)
In the meantime, though, it’s important to know what and who we’re up against. As a good rule of thumb, you might watch whom these super PACs support and vote against them.
Today I want to give you my nominees for the worst of these big loathsome super PACs — and ask you to choose the worst of the worst in the poll below and share your views in the comments.
Here are my nominees for the worst, and why I nominate them:...
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