The President has previously been a staunch opponent of so-called “super” PACs because they can spend unlimited amounts of cash to influence elections.
On second thought, President Obama would like that Super PAC money after all.
The Commander-in-Chief is doing a 180 and asking top fundraisers to support an independent political action committee backing his reelection.
The President has previously been a staunch opponent of so-called “super” PACs because they can spend unlimited amounts of cash to influence elections.
But Team Obama argued Monday night that it cannot allow for “two sets of rules” in which the GOP presidential nominee benefits from “unlimited spending and Democrats unilaterally disarm.”
CHEAT SHEET: WHAT’S A SUPER PAC?
Obama’s campaign encouraged top donors in a conference call to donate to Priorities USA, a super PAC spearheaded by two of the President’s former aides.
A huge disparity was revealed earlier this month when Super PAC financial filings were made public. The Republican’s American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS — groups affiliated with George W. Bush architect Karl Rove — reported a jaw-dropping $51 million last year.
That’s in comparison to major Democratic groups, which collected $19 million during the same timeframe.
“We decided to do this because we can’t afford for the work you’re doing in your communities, and the grassroots donations you give to support it, to be destroyed by hundreds of millions of dollars in negative ads,” the President’s campaign manager Jim Messina wrote in an e-mail to supporters.
Republicans immediately seized on President Obama’s reversal, calling the move “hypocritical.”
“This is a brazenly cynical move by Barack Obama and his political handlers, who just a year ago had the chutzpah to call outside groups a threat to democracy,” Jonathan Collegio, a spokesman for American Crossroads, told The Associated Press.
With News Wire Services
ashahid@nydailynews.com