New Poll Shows Brutal Impact Of Super PACs

HOME POLITICS NATIONAL NEWS WORLD ECONOMY SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT Joe Conason Carl Hiaasen Connie Schultz E.J. Dionne Gene Lyons Jonathan Alter April 25, 2012 THE BIG STORY, BY GENE LYONS With Trayvon Martin Shooting, Truth Is Still Elusive Almost from the beginning, there were two aspects of the George Zimmerman as racist assassin story that made little sense. First, who calls the police, then murders a total stranger in cold blood knowing that they're minutes away? Second, how does a 28 year old man with a desk job catch a fleeing 17 year-old high school athlete anyway? READ MORE FEATURED AUTHOR: MICHAEL LIND What Will America Build Next? In the early twenty-first century, Paterson, New Jersey, is a troubled city in a troubled country. The city that traces its origins back to Alexander Hamilton's Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures has lost most of its manufacturing businesses to other countries and is plagued by poverty, crime, and urban decay. But 20 miles south, everything looks different. READ MORE BUDGETS New California Taxes Pay For Pensions, Not Schools Most Californians would be surprised to learn that 100 percent of education's share of the tax increase proposed by Governor Jerry Brown will go to pensions instead of classrooms. The problem wasn't caused by teachers, students, taxpayers or California residents. But who is responsible? READ MORE FEATURED COLUMN: JIM HIGHTOWER Mitt Romney And The Private-Equity Hustle What are these phantasmagoric money machines that they call "private-equity firms?" They're much in the news because a fellow who was a private-equity magnate is presently running for president. Mitt Romney now claims that, because of his success in that business, he knows how to "fix" our economy. Before you cheer that, note that private equity whizzes are all about The Fix -- not necessarily a good thing. They start by borrowing big piles of cash at high interest rates from rich speculators to buy out XYZ Corp. READ MORE Super PACs Poll: Are SuperPACs Already Affecting November Vote? A national poll released Tuesday shows voters widely believe that Super PACs cause corruption and their predominance in the 2012 campaign is already affecting decisions by some voter groups about how -- and even whether -- to cast their ballots. READ MORE CAMPAIGN 2012 Romney Sweeps Five Primaries, Inches Toward General The Republican presidential nomination all but in hand, Mitt Romney is refocusing his efforts on challenging President Barack Obama, raising cash for the battle ahead and reconciling with onetime primary rival Rick Santorum. "Tonight is the start of a new campaign," the former Massachusetts governor said Tuesday night as he celebrated a sweep of five primaries. He blasted Obama as a man whose time in office has been marked by "false promises and weak leadership" in a time of economic struggle. READ MORE CARTOON OF THE DAY   (c) 2012 Eastern Harbor Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 28 West 27th Street, Suite 502 New York, NY 10001