In the past 3 weeks, interest group spending has surged in the California Senate and it has all gone to Fiorina. The US Chamber of Commerce contributed $853,00 and the equally conservative American Principles in Action has contributed $69,000. This is only a small portion of the $80,000,000 that special interest groups have spent so far this election season. Of this amount, one half has been donated by donors who don't have the balls to let their identity be know. The money has been spent overwhelmingly to support Republican candidates, actually to attack Democratic candidates, which is not always the same thing. The money has been breaking 7 to 1 for the Republicans.
The US Supreme Court in their Citizens United decision ruled that corporations are protected by the First Amendment and so can not be limited in the free expression of their views. Unfortunately, whereas people are subject to a moral compass, corporations are guided only by the bottom line. And where people who commit a felony can be imprisoned, corporations file bankruptcy or dissolve and laugh all the way to the bank. To see the impact of this Supreme Court decision, one only has to compare the spending by interest groups from four years ago. At this point in that election, interest groups had spent $16,000,.000 or only 20% of this year's total.
With California being one of the nine Senate seats currently being called a toss up, look for more money to be flowing into the state from special interest groups. The attack ads financed by the many special interest groups are mean spirited and create a bad taste in the mouths of many voters. We can only hope that voters recognize the ads for what they are but if history is a guide, many will be swayed and use their vote to vote against a candidate instead of for a candidate.
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