It is very interesting to note that a lot has changed during the Obama Administration, notably the use of PACs. For those of you that are not as politically savvy, these are political action committees used for a specific purpose. President Obama's PAC, originally intended to elect him to the White House, has now switched over to influencing public policy. It is called "Organizing for America". Whether this is good or bad remains to be seen. However, one thing that can be said with certainty is it really has not been done before.
In effort to push for a national healthcare system, President Obama has begun running political ads on television in hopes of swaying public opinion (as well as Congressional opinion). Currently as it stands, there remains significant opposition to this healthcare bill in Congress and the nation. To be expected is the Republican opposition, but what was not expected from the President was the amount of opposition from within the Democratic Party. While both parties agree that a change to the system is necessary, there is not a consensus as to how it should be implemented.
While the President has the bully pulpit, I do not believe there has been a time in history when a President unleashed the power of his own PAC to influence policy. Well, at least not in American history. What is even more interesting is the fact this PAC continues to raise money and serves as both a financial arm and a volunteer outreach extension that is influenced heavily by the President but does not have to answer to anyone but the FEC for finance compliance.
These ads are running in a number of states, including Ohio, Florida, and Indiana.
Sure, FDR had the fireside chats, but this is a new animal entirely. If it was the Democratic National Committee or an unrelated PAC doing these advertisements, I would not take issue. And in all fairness, some of these ads are from unrelated PACs.
However, I am not sure how I feel about Obama using his personal PAC to influence policy. It does not feel right, and in fact it makes me quite nervous.
The Mang
Conservative Capo of Youngstown
Weiner
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