Cartoon-style posters portray SEC chief as superhero who can slay 'dark money menace'
Mary Jo White comic slide from YouTube screen capture.
Public interest groups have cast Securities and Exchange Commission chair Mary Jo White as a superhero with special powers in a series of comic-book style posters backing disclosure of corporate political expenditures.
The National Law Journal describes the series of cartoon panels, beginning with an illustration of monsters throwing slime at the White House. “The nation’s capital—taken hostage by the menace of dark money,” the caption reads. Citizens cry out for the person who can save them. “I’ve heard whispers of a woman granted special powers by the government,” one citizen proclaims.
The final panel shows a hazy outline of White wearing superhero attire, including a cape and tights. “Mary Jo is the superhero we need to end this menace,” the poster says, “but we’re still waiting for her to act.”
The ads were paid for by Public Citizen, Greenpeace and other groups backing rules to require disclosure of political spending by public corporations. In a Huffington Post article, officials from Greenpeace USA and Public Citizen’s Congress Watch explain why they back disclosure rules.
“Over the last two election cycles, nonprofit groups that are not required to disclose their corporate donors have spent more than $500 million to influence federal elections, and much of their money likely came from corporate interests,” the Huffington Post article says. “Shareholders should not be left in the dark when companies they own spend money to influence a political cause.”
See video of the comic and ad on YouTube:
