Super PACs are, of course, the progeny of the Supreme Court's January, 2010 decision in Citizens United, which declared unconstitutional the legislative provisions that had prohibited corporations and unions from their organizational treasuries to pay for ads, even if those ads were made independently of a candidate's campaign.

Now, so long as the Super PACs are "independent" of a politician's own efforts, they can raise and expend unlimited funds either for a) "independent expenditures" that support or oppose a particular candidate or b) "electioneering communications" that may mention the candidate favorably or unfavorably in a discussion of campaign issues, but which do not expressly advocate election or defeat.

Moreover, many of the Super PACs' real donors will not be disclosed. Super PACs themselves, which are organized under federal election laws, must register with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and disclose contributors. But many Super PAC donors will be tax-exempt "social welfare organizations" or trade associations or "issue organizations" organized under the Internal Revenue Code -- the so-called 501(c)(4), 50l(c)(6), or 527 entities. And, under long-standing IRS rules, such tax-exempt organizations are not required to disclose their corporate or individual donors, who will thus not be listed in Super PAC reports filed with the FEC.

In 2010, 80 Super PACs registered with the FEC. In this election cycle, more than 250 Super PACs have already registered. This includes a pro-Obama Super PAC (Priorities USA Action), a behind-the-curve pro-Gingrich one (Winning Our Future), a number organized by prominent Republicans like Karl Rove in a reprise of 2010 (e.g. American Crossroads), and even one promoted by Stephen Colbert (Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow). Super PACs spent $90 million in 2010. The amounts they spend this year will be many multiples of that ($32 million has already been raised, and the war has barely begun).

For conservative critics of campaign finance regulation, Super PACs are an excellent development (just as Citizens United was rightly decided), allowing money from all points on the political spectrum to be aggregated and spent "independently" for or against candidates. To them, the "marketplace of ideas" is now well-funded and even more robust.

For critics of Citizens United and the large amounts of "independent" money flowing into tax-exempt entities and Super PACs, this marketplace is seriously flawed. But, as I will note, there are no solutions on the horizon for the problems the new PACs present, which include these:

DISCLOSURE