Citizens United has consequences. Anyone recall HOW Ron Johnson (I-hate-Unions), replaced Senator Russ Feingold, in the once-very-progressive state of Wisconsin?
Three words: "Citizens United Money"
Well, they're fixing to do it again -- this time in the great bell-weather state of Ohio.
by Mark Niquette, Bloomberg, businessweek.com -- Sep 20, 2012
For a display of the power of unlimited spending in politics, take a look at Ohio, where a barrage of television advertising is threatening to sweep away Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown. His Republican challenger, first-term State Treasurer Josh Mandel, trailed by as many as 14 percentage points this past May, yet two recent polls show the candidates in a statistical tie.The gap narrowed after $18 million was spent on TV ads supporting Mandel. Much of the money came from independent groups, including Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS, which under the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision can spend without limits on campaigns. Ohio, a bellwether in the presidential election, is also a linchpin in the Republican effort to take control of the Senate.
[...]A total of 38,382 TV commercials aired in the race from July 2011 to Sept. 17 -- 27,483 of them for Mandel, 10,899 for Brown -- according to Kantar Media’s Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks advertising. [...] In the Senate race, Mandel has aired the most ads, 7,238, followed by 6,855 from Crossroads GPS and 6,472 from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Brown’s campaign has aired 5,633 spots.
Says Brown: “This wouldn’t be a race at all if it weren’t for the millions of dollars against me from outside, undisclosed interest groups.” For Mandel’s part, he says he’s embarrassed for Brown. “He’s a sitting U.S. senator, and it seems that he’s just stuck on whining.”
Citizen United is giving a Mega-megaphone to someone seeking the Ohio Senate seat -- someone who probably isn't even qualified to be county dog catcher, given his recent dodgy track record.