SuperPACS:American Elections Bought and Sold for Profit

How have Super PACs changed the face of campaigns? Are there too many Super PACs? How have they changed the tone of the debate? Do the ads they produce really help Americans figure out who is a better candidate? And can voters see who’s spending these unlimited amounts of money on campaigns?

Related articles

• The Cost of The Us Election Campaign (socyberty.com)
• Colbert SuperPAC Goes on the Air in South Carolina (news.firedoglake.com)
• Gingrich Drops a Knockout Punch Money Bomb, Santorum Goes on the Attack, and Romney Tries to Stay Intact (whitehouse12.com)
• Super PACs Are a Form of Political Participation (usnews.com)
• Constitutional Amendment Needed to Stop Unlimited Campaign Cash (fidlerten.com)
• The Best Political Spin Money Can Buy (speedofcreativity.org)
• How to react to an explosion of negative political ads (csmonitor.com)
• Ruth Marcus: The dangers of Super PACs (goerie.com)
• Thoughts on campaign spending and gridlock (peterkirsch.wordpress.com)

Did the Oil barons just threatened the President of the U.S.? Yes… but will they get away with it?

Speaking at a conference this week – Jack Gerard – the head of the American Petroleum Institute – which is the nation’s largest lobbying organization for oil and gas corporations – told President Obama, “I think it would be a huge mistake on the part of the president of the United States to deny the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline…Clearly, the Keystone XL pipeline is in the national interest. A determination to decide anything less than that I believe will have huge political consequences.” Do what the oil barons say – build the damn pipeline – or suffer “huge political consequences.” The sad part is – in today’s post Citizens United world – we have to take these threats seriously.

Related articles

• Big Oil Threatens Obama with ‘Huge Political Consequences’ if He Doesn’t Approve the Keystone XL (treehugger.com)
• Keystone XL pipeline: Oil chief issues threat to Obama over decision (bfreenews.com)
• Keystone XL pipeline: Oil chief issues threat to Obama over decision (guardian.co.uk)
• Obama faces political heat if Keystone rejected: API (business.financialpost.com)
• ‘I Vote 4 Energy’ Video Spoofs American Petroleum Institute Ad Campaign (VIDEO) (huffingtonpost.com)
• Big oil warns Obama: “huge political consequences” (seattlepi.com)
• API’s New ‘Vote 4 Energy’ Ad Campaign Is Thinly Veiled Election Year Bullying (desmogblog.com)
• Unequal Risks And Benefits For Citizens In 6 States On Keystone XL Pipeline Route (huffingtonpost.com)
• API Promises To Make Big Oil Agenda And Pipeline Decision A 2012 Issue With Ad Campaign (thinkprogress.org)
• Not happy with the oil companies – Jan 7 (energybulletin.net)