Editorial: Senate needs to get on ball and ban PAC to PACs

Time and again Alabama legislators announce they would support a bill to ban PAC-to-PAC transfers. After all, keeping who is funneling money to whom a secret stinks of possible corruption.
We don’t want our representatives in Montgomery (much less Washington) bought and paid for by powerful lobby organizations or big corporations that attempt to throw their financial weight around the Statehouse.

Enter Rep. Jeff McLaughlin, a Democrat from Guntersville. McLaughlin is an active opponent of such secrets and financial campaign transactions.

That’s why he introduced a bill banning such activity. He’s introduced similar bills in the past and seemingly will not stop until one is finally passed.

Alabama’s House of Representatives followed suit Feb. 12, voting 98-0 in favor of McLaughlin’s legislation.

One would think transparent donations and the days of secret deals were on the way out.

Enter the Alabama Senate.

With time running out in this spring’s legislative session, the Senate has not voted on the matter. That’s disappointing.

Is transparency not that important to members of the Alabama Senate?

PACs make it nearly impossible for the general public to know exactly who gave what dollar amount to whom.

PACs bounce donations around, covering the tracks of the original donor.

If a major organization donated thousands to a particular legislator, the voters deserve to know this.

The voters deserve to know which candidates are beholden to which organizations.

Money buys power.

Money buys control.

As long as PACs remain a fixture in Alabama politics, the perception that campaign donations buy votes in the Statehouse will continue to exist.

It’s our job as Alabama voters to elect men and women into office that squarely believe in transparency in government and will finally rid this shady system of deception.