President Barack Obama gave his support to the Democratic super political action committee, which will campaign for his reelection, according to a White House press briefing on Tuesday.
Priorities USA is a political action committee and operates as an independent organization that’s legally separate from any candidate. That separation enables super PACs to collect unlimited donations on behalf of politicians, exceeding the $2,500 donation limit placed on campaign contributions from regular PACs.
“He strongly opposed it, as you know,” said U.S. Press Secretary Jay Carney on the president at the press briefing. “He made that clear at his State of the Union address in 2010, which got a lot of attention, and he holds those views today.”
While a number of students said they dislike super PACs, not all of them think this new development changes Obama’s overall image.
Joe Reed, a sophomore majoring in political science, said super PACs are a horrible ideas.
“I don’t really know how [the government] felt this was a productive way to limit campaign donations from certain people,” Reed said. “I don’t think [super PACs are] a good idea, but I think that for this particular election, they’re necessary for Obama to have any chance at winning.”
Still, Reed said the super PACs do not have a great influence on Obama’s image.
“The only way it affects his image is because now he’s fully in campaign mode,” he said. “That’s the only difference. There’s absolutely no way he could defeat any GOP candidate without embracing a PAC. That’s just the name of the game.”
Young Wu Nam, a sophomore studying political science, said Obama’s decision was understandable considering he is vying for another term in office. However, he also finds this change in stance to be contradictory.
Obama will have to take steps to justify his change in position, Nam said.
Evan Caughey, a College of Communication junior, said that the PAC will definitely change Obama’s image.
“Whether that will influence the outcome of this election, it’s hard to say,” Caughey said.
“I go as far as to say it feels destructive for any politician to use super PACs,” Caughey said. “I would like to see the Supreme Court ruling overturned and not have any super PACs at all.”
Reed also said super PACs should be weeded out to elevate the integrity of politically campaigns.
“There should be a more comprehensive campaign reform effort,” he said. “Outrageous donations are clearly unfair, and the candidates have no control over them.”
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