As the 2016 presidential campaign season hits full stride with hundreds of millions of dollars pouring in from outside funding groups, democracy reformers are zeroing in on the one person they say could stem the flow of money into electoral politics: U.S. President Barack Obama.
“President Obama has no one to blame but himself for his failing legacy on money in politics,” said Kurt Walters, campaign manager at Rootstrikers, a project of the national grassroots group Demand Progress that focuses on the corrupting influence of anonymous, unlimited political spending. “It’s cynical even by Washington standards—Obama has said for six years that he’s outraged at Citizens United but hasn’t bothered to do anything to combat the decision’s effects.”