Elizabeth Warren campaign rally
Last week, Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Scott Brown
traded letters about the millions in third-party ads already overwhelming Massachusetts. First, Brown wrote a letter calling on her to condemn the ads, then she followed up with a letter Friday asking him to join her in calling off Super PACs and third party intervention in the Massachusetts Senate race. That was after the U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced they would
become "significantly involved" in defeating Warren.
Today, Brown answered, and the two have joined together in demanding a third-party cease-fire in the campaign.
Senior officials from Brown’s and Warren’s campaigns will soon meet to try to craft an unusual pact to curtail the influence of so-called Super PACs that have grown in power since the Supreme Court’s Citizen United case loosened campaign finance rules in 2010.
Whether the talk amounts to anything more than public posturing to distance themselves from the millions of dollars in negative attacks launched by the groups remains to be seen. Experts are skeptical that groups will unilaterally disarm knowing that this race could tip the balance of power in the Senate.
But Brown and Warren—both of whom will have warchests flush with their own campaign cash—are trying to make the case they want outside groups to stay off the airwaves, in a bid to appeal to voters tired of partisan mud-slinging.
Of course, Brown is trying to make this sound like it's all his idea: "Brown, speaking outside an American Legion post in Mattapan, Mass., said he’s 'glad Professor Warren seems to be coming around on this issue,' adding that he’s been calling on her to disavow outside spending for several weeks." Right, because Karl Rove's Crossroads and the Chamber of Commerce were on Warren's side. The reality is Warren has an average campaign contribution of $64, and over 20,000 contributors from Massachusetts.
Is this likely to keep the attack dogs away from the race? Hardly. Elizabeth Warren is far too much a threat to Wall Street and the big money powers that be. Fat chance they'll back off, when defeating her is their highest priority.
