Elizabeth Warren just nailed it again
Elizabeth Warren has routinely made clear that she thinks Super PACs should be outlawed. She also decided today that she’s not going to disavow the new Super PAC that’s begun running ads in support of her 2020 campaign. Good for her. Not only is she doing the smart thing, she’s doing the morally correct thing. I hate Super PACs as much as she does, but allow me to explain.
Right now the overwhelming moral imperative is to defeat Donald Trump in November. The future of the country depends on it. Lives literally depend on it. Therefore, Democratic candidates have a moral responsibility to use all of the tools available to them – even tools that shouldn’t exist – so long as they use those tools in an ethical way.
Yes, it’s a potentially slippery slope. But does anyone really think that Liz Warren of all people is suddenly going to become corrupt, simply because some outside group ran some TV ads on her behalf? I’ve got news for you: the Democratic nominee will also have a moral imperative to accept Mike Bloomberg’s advertising money, because again, this is about defeating Trump. If Warren does become president, she will then have a moral imperative to make every effort possible to abolish Super PACs across the board, as she’s promised. But right now the moral imperative is to win.
Bernie Sanders surrogates like Susan Sarandon are already attacking Elizabeth Warren for this, and insisting it’s proof that Bernie is the only “pure” candidate. Come to think of it, there are some tactics that candidates shouldn’t resort to. For instance, Bernie shouldn’t be sending his national press secretary on TV to spread false claims about Bloomberg having a heart attack – but that happened this week. Warren isn’t doing anything unethical like that. She’s merely using the tools that are legally available to all candidates, so she can make sure Trump gets run out of town.
