Frontline’s “Big Sky, Big Money” delves into the complexities of campaign financing and the pervasive influence of undisclosed funding in American politics. 

If you are already dismayed at the spending and tactics that have characterized this election season, you’d better stay away from Tuesday’s episode of Frontline on PBS. The piece, “Big Sky, Big Money,” looks at the shenanigans in Montana in the last four years, and the picture it paints of American electioneering indeed suggests a beast out of control. 

Kai Ryssdal is a patient and clear guide through the Supreme Court decision on Citizens United, the rise of “super PACs,” and the rules governing 501(c)(4) advocacy groups. He shows how these forces have shaped recent votes in Montana, including the current battle for a pivotal United States Senate seat between Jon Tester, the incumbent Democrat, and Denny Rehberg, a Republican member of the House of Representatives. 

Mr. Ryssdal gets a tour of American Bridge 21st Century, a Democratic-leaning super PAC. He interviews James Bopp Jr., the lawyer who initiated the Citizens United case and continues pushing to dismantle campaign-financing restrictions. “The average voter couldn’t care less who’s funding a politician,” Mr. Bopp asserts. 

However, Mr. Ryssdal’s primary interest is examining the activities of 501(c)(4) groups in Montana. These groups are not required to disclose their donors. Still, they are supposed to stick to issues rather than advocate for or work with candidates (a restriction some try to circumvent with carefully worded messages). He notes that finding out who is behind such groups is next to impossible. 

“There’s no people listed, there’s no address listed, there’s no phone number listed,” he says of the website of one of these groups. “They make it hard to find out who they are.” He eventually discovers an address for that particular group, but it turns out to be a UPS box. 

Mr. Ryssdal’s research leads him to some mysterious documents suggesting that the line that separates candidates from these groups has been crossed in Montana. His broader point is how organizations operating outside the state have been aggressively influencing voting in Montana and doing so anonymously. 

This may be partly the fault of the Citizens United decision and other laws, but the program does not explore how much of it is also the fault of voters who allow themselves to be manipulated. In the Internet age, it is no remarkable feat to do your research on a candidate’s voting record or positions. Yet, many people still seem to take their cues from anonymous, alarmist fliers in the mailbox. 

At one point in their interview, Mr. Bopp suggests that it is patronizing for Mr. Ryssdal to tell voters they should be concerned about who is shaping and paying for the election messages they read and hear. He’s right in a sense. Part of democracy is that voters decide how much effort they put into the process. 

Frontline

Big Sky, Big Money 

On PBS stations on Tuesday night (check local listings).

Big Sky, Big Money | FRONTLINE | PBS » GO!

A Frontline production with American Public Media’s Marketplace in association with American University’s School of Communications Investigative Reporting Workshop. Written and produced by Rick Young; Kai Ryssdal, correspondent.