Another Election Cycle, Another "Dark Money" Windfall

[whell]

It's always fun living in a "battleground state" during election year.

Untraceable cash spills into Michigan governor's race

Three of the leading candidates to be Michigan's next chief executive have benefited from large sums of cash that can't be easily followed to their original sources because of federal laws allowing not-for-profit organizations to influence elections outside of the state's campaign finance law.

Former state Sen. Gretchen Whitmer's campaign for the Democratic nomination for governor has been aided by $550,000 in concealed donations from two entities that don't appear to exist in public records.

Attorney General Bill Schuette's bid for the Republican nomination in next Tuesday's primary also has been boosted by $1.2 million in untraceable donations flowing from two so-called "dark money" front organizations that can legally conceal the identities of their donors.

And Lt. Gov. Brian Calley got $1.3 million of free advertising through a TV commercial promoting his work with Gov. Rick Snyder turning around Michigan's economy that was paid for by a Snyder-led group that doesn't have to disclose its funding sources.

I HATE this. Yet we're stupid enough to ask politicians to pass laws that would cut off their access to this kind of money? It'll never happen. If you really want to know what's wrong with our election system, its this.