NPR runs a story stating the obvious -- that voters want to know who is behind anonymous political attack ads -- but sometimes the most important thing to do is stating the obvious. As two of the voters they spoke with said:
In a little booth in the corner, two old friends, Jim Lawrence and Dennis Nolan, pick at their last fries. They're both exasperated by the situation, which Lawrence says is made worse by the ambiguous names the supposedly nonpolitical groups have.
"You know, these things could be financed by anybody. If they want to chop down apple trees it will be called the Green Apple Coalition," Lawrence says.
And Nolan thinks keeping the donors secret actually hoodwinks the viewer into paying attention to the attack.
"When you do find out who's funding them, the motivations are just crystal clear," he says.
This isn't just a case of simple partisan sniping. It's an issue of right and wrong. It's wrong to let special interest groups spend unlimited sums trying to influence elections without disclosing who they are. It's important to point out that Republicans are depending on these anonymous donors to win this election. And you can bet your life that even though we don't know who paid what to whom, Republicans who get elected to Congress will know exactly who funded those ads -- because those donors are going to expect something in return.