Republicans charged President Obama with hypocrisy after he attended a Super PAC fundraising party — the same type of gathering he once disdained and slammed as a threat to open governance and a transparent political process.
The White House, meanwhile, defended the president’s attendance and said Mr. Obama was only trying to attend a “roundtable event,” the New York Times reported.
The New York Times also reported that the fundraiser for the Senate Majority PAC — an outfit that raises money for Democrats facing Senate runs — was the first “super PAC” event Mr. Obama has ever attended, and that his Tuesday presence shows just how badly Democrats want to win in November.
A PAC spokesman, Ty Matsdorf, declined to give details about the event. White House officials insisted that the president’s attendance was for a “round table” discussion only, the newspaper said.
But Republicans saw differently, calling Mr. Obama’s presence a hypocritical turn-around of his previous stated disdain for the PAC process.
“After railing against outside money, President Barack Obama will now raise money so Senate Majority PAC can fling mud against Republicans,” Republican National Committee spokesman Jahan Wilcox said, in the New York Times. “It’s just further proof that Democrats will do anything to stay in power.”
In 2012, Mr. Obama fell just shy of openly supporting a super PAC that was supporting his reelection, Priorities USA Action. Then, he allowed top aides and campaign workers to go to the group’s events, but he refused to appear himself.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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