Los Super PACs hacen la diferencia

First Read:

*** It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Romney’s Super PAC: At last night’s GOP presidential debate, Mitt Romney -- after spending the past week attacking Newt Gingrich in some brutally personal ways in interviews -- didn’t lay a single hand on the former House speaker. And he didn’t have to, thanks to the pro-Romney Super PAC that’s hammering Gingrich with negative TV ads in Iowa (here and here). So far, the Super PAC, Restore Our Future, has spent $2.7 million in Iowa and $2.9 million overall on the airwaves to help Romney and to hurt Gingrich. Looking at it another way, the Super PAC is spending 1,200-plus points of advertising in the Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, and Sioux City. Folks, that’s a TON of advertising. If Gingrich’s poll numbers in Iowa are dropping -- as some of the less reliable robo polls and anecdotal evidence suggest -- Restore Our Future has to be a chief reason. And get this: Romney’s campaign has yet to spend a single cent on a negative TV ad hitting Gingrich. We always knew that the Super PACs would play a large role in this presidential contest, and now they are.

*** By the numbers: Here is the total ad spending in Iowa to date: Perry $4.3 million, Restore Our Future $2.7 million, Make Us Great Again (pro-Perry group) $1.3 million, Ron Paul $1.3 million, Romney $536,000, Gingrich $233,000, and Red White and Blue Fund (pro-Santorum group) $200,000. And here is the total Super PAC spending: Make Us Great Again $3 million, Restore Our Future $2.9 million, Our Destiny PAC (pro-Huntsman) $1.5 million, and Red White and Blue Fund $200,000. Some more perspective on Romney’s TV ad spending: The ACTUAL campaign has barely spent over $1 million; four years ago at this SAME POINT in the campaign, Romney had already spent more than $10 million on the air… What a difference a Supreme Court decision makes.