Liberal CNN contributor Paul Begala has spent a lot of time since the 2010 Citizen’s United ruling by the Supreme Court criticizing Super PACs and the amount of money they pump into politics but left one thing out — he benefits greatly from them too.
The Center for Responsive Politics on Monday posted a report on the pro-Obama Super PAC Priorities USA Action, including the revelation that he made more than $400,000 while working for the organization from April 2011 through November 2012.
Begala, who writes for Newsweek and The Daily Beast, and has been a contributor to CNN for nearly two decades, has been sharply critical of Super PACs while also noting that he works for one despite his distaste for their role in politics.
“I advise the biggest Pro-Obama Super Pac, and yet I would like to live in a world without Super Pacs,” Begala told Brown Political Review in November. “I’d be happy to work myself out of a job because I think unlimited money is not good for the system.”
He added that he wasn’t sure if Obama would have won the presidential election without the aid of Super PACs, because “I’m too biased to be able to give you a fair assessment of the truth of that.”
“But I know this,” he continued, “I want to live in a world without Super PACs, but I want live in a world without nuclear weapons, too. But as long as they exist, if Chairman Khrushchev is going to have nuclear weapons, then I want to make sure President Kennedy has them as well.”
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