Associated Press: Democratic pledges against big money come with an asterisk

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bernie Sanders wants to crack down on outside groups that do political spending, though one is allied with his presidential campaign. Elizabeth Warren has vowed no untraceable “dark money” will help her White House bid, despite being backed by an organization that doesn’t disclose some of its donors. And Pete Buttigieg accepted lobbyist money — until he didn’t.

Virtually all Democrats running for the White House rail against the flood of campaign cash that courses through the political system. But as the primary unfolds, it’s becoming clear that those pledges come with asterisks. …

“There’s an optics issue here,” said Paul S. Ryan, an attorney with the good-government group Common Cause. “You have a candidate who has sworn off big unlimited money but is closely allied with an organization that is using big unlimited money.”