Frontline Season 14 Episode 9 So You Want to Buy a President?

So You Want to Buy a President? is the ninth episode of the 14th season of the infamous investigative journalism documentary series, Frontline. In this episode, the investigative team throws light on the murky world of campaign financing and how political campaigns are funded in the United States.

The episode begins by posing a fundamental question - "Is the candidate with the most money always the one who wins?" The team then delves deep into the world of campaign finance to explore the answer.

The episode first looks at the Supreme Court's landmark Citizen United decision and its impact on campaign financing. The decision allowed corporations, unions, and other organizations to donate unlimited amounts of money to Super PACs, which are political action committees that can mobilize unlimited sums of cash but are not allowed to coordinate directly with campaigns. The episode argues that the decision has tilted the balance of the political system towards big donors while sidelining common people's voices from the process.

The episode then examines how Super PACs operate by following the trail of money in the 2012 federal elections. The team discovers that Super PACs received almost $1 billion in donations during the election cycle, with the majority coming from a few ultra-wealthy donors. The team argues that this has created a system where a tiny group of people, often with a specific political agenda, have a disproportionate level of influence.

Next, the episode takes a closer look at a Super PAC supporting Republican candidate Mitt Romney. The PAC, called Restore Our Future, had already raised $72 million by the time of the elections. The team investigates the PAC's largest donors, including several corporations and wealthy individuals. They discover that some donors were contributing to multiple Super PACs to spread their influence, while others were corporate entities with no previous political expenditure history.

The most alarming aspect of the episode is the discovery that many wealthy donors use their political contributions to push their own interests. The team examines cases like Sheldon Adelson, a Vegas casino magnate who donated $20 million to a Super PAC supporting Republican candidate Newt Gingrich. After Gingrich lost the nomination, Adelson donated $10 million to a Super PAC supporting Republican nominee Mitt Romney. The team argues that such donations create potential conflicts of interest if the candidate Adelson supported wins the election because of the huge financial favors conferred upon him.

The team concludes the episode by discussing the potential impact of vast amounts of money pouring into American politics on democracy itself. They raise questions on how this system of "buying an election" is creating a crisis of legitimacy in the political system. They argue that the system allows a handful of people to have an inordinate sway in politics, depriving the average American of their right to influence political decisions.

Overall, So You Want to Buy a President? is a probing and fascinating look into the world of campaign financing and its influence on American politics. By tracing the flow of money and analyzing the impact of Super PACs and Citizen United on political funding, the episode highlights an important and timely issue that has become a major concern in American politics.