End the Secrecy

Politics and secrecy are a recipe for corruption.

That's why we're so troubled by piles of money poured into campaigns in Iowa and across the country this year by groups that do not disclose their donors.

The non-partisan Sunlight Foundation estimates that $126 million was spent on electioneering this cycle by groups that keep donors secret. Millions more was spent by groups that disclose, but not until well after Election Day. Disclosure rules that do exist are not strongly enforced.

But it's secret money that stands out, spent by groups that exploit a section of the federal tax code for “public welfare groups” to evade disclosure. In Iowa, the American Future Fund spent more than $1 million on ads targeting Democratic U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley in Eastern Iowa's 1st District. Crossroads GPS, a group founded by Republican strategist Karl Rove, spent $4.4 million in Illinois' tight U.S. Senate race. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also spent millions of dollars on races nationwide.

Voters had no idea which individuals, corporations or groups bankrolled those efforts, and many misleading TV ads, or why they sought to influence the outcome. And although Republicans received most of the benefits of this spending in 2010, you can bet Democrats will do all they can to catch up, raising the specter of even more secret giving in 2012.

Many blame the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United v. FEC decision, which opened the door to unfettered campaign spending by corporations and unions. But in its ruling, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that the court expected the new funding landscape to include disclosure. “This transparency enables the electorate to make informed decisions and give proper weight to different speakers and messages,” he wrote.

In reality, it's Congress that failed to provide transparency. The one piece of legislation that held promise, the

DISCLOSE Act, was deeply flawed by Democratic tinkering and filibustered to death by Republicans. Good disclosure requirements were overshadowed by special interest loopholes.

Now, a new Congress takes over. It will be tempting for those who won under the current rules to keep them in place. But that's not in the public's best interest. Secret money is bad for the political process and further undermines the public's already shaken confidence in its government.

Repairing that confidence should start with shining a light on secret donors.