“We got new terms. Now we’ve got like ‘Super-PACs’, right?” NAACP attorney Alfreda Bester told Leaders With Vision during their informational luncheon on campaign finance last week.
But what are Super-PACs? Technically, under Louisiana law, they don’t exist.
“State law just calls everything a ‘political committee’,” Louisiana Board of Ethics administrator Kathleen Allen explained. “If you’ve got two or more persons supporting or opposing candidates, they’re just called a political committee.”
Allen says there is a state law governing donations to political committees.
“It’s a hundred thousand dollars, per person – every four years.”
But in May, the federal court in New Orleans ruled that Louisiana’s Board of Ethics could not enforce that law on the “Fund for Louisiana’s Future”, a Super-PAC that is backing David Vitter’s gubernatorial campaign.
Vitter wanted the cap on donations lifted, so that he could donate money from his U.S. Senate campaign fund to his affiliated Super-PAC, and utilize the money for the governor’s race. While federal campaign finance law prohibits using money raised for federal races on state campaigns – and vice-versa – the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in the Citizens United case opened the door for Super-PACs to provide a way to skirt the intent of federal law.
“One of the first things you learn in law – probably even first year – is that there are a lot of fictions,” Bester commented.
“For some reason, the court has held that 1st Amendment covers people with big bucks wanting to drop big bucks on a campaign,” Louisiana House and Governmental Affairs committee chairman Tim Burns said, noting the FFLF decision opens the door to letting money govern Louisiana.
“They are buying access, and they are buying influence. It makes the politicians puppets,” Bester said of the major donors to the Super-PACs.
Jeremy Alford with LA Politics.com says the stage is set for money to trump issues--and even personalities—in this fall’s governor’s race.
“David Vitter, Scott Angelle, Jay Dardenne, John Bel Edwards have collectively raised for governor $12.1 million dollars to date. The four Super-PACs that are involved in the governor’s race have raised $17.6 million.”
Alford expects this could alter Louisiana’s political landscape for generations to come.
“If cash is the mother’s milk of Louisiana politics, then the Super-PAC is the cow,” Alford said. “And it’s a cow that will never die. It will continue to give milk as long as you want to pull those udders.”