Last week, Laura Ingraham was nearly bursting with excitement as she revealed that Harrison Butker was stepping into the political arena: a "move bound to infuriate liberals". For those unfamiliar, Butker is a kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs, a team known beyond sports circles for being the one Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift's boyfriend, plays for. Besides being the NFL's highest-paid kicker and sporting an impressive beard, Butker holds views that a polite person might label as "traditional" and a more blunt person might describe as "Taliban-adjacent". He believes women should primarily focus on making sandwiches for their husbands and caring for their children. In May, the athlete stirred controversy when he delivered a commencement speech at Benedictine College, a Catholic liberal arts school, advocating these beliefs. During the speech, Butker also condemned "harmful gender ideologies", deemed Pride month a "deadly sin", and reiterated various conservative talking points.
Butker's speech at Benedictine sparked significant backlash, but predictably, it also made him a hero among the right. No longer just a player earning millions for kicking a ball, he became a warrior, bravely advancing a new front in the ongoing culture war. Sales of his jersey skyrocketed. Now, it appears Butker plans to leverage his newfound fame all the way to the White House. While he hasn't announced a presidential campaign yet—though one can imagine he's considered it—he has ventured into the complex world of political financing.
Over the weekend, the kicker launched a political action committee named Upright Pac, aimed at mobilizing more Christians to vote. "We see our values under constant attack. In our schools, media, and even from our own government," the website states. "But we have an opportunity to fight back and restore the traditional values that have made this country great. That's why UPRIGHT PAC was established." Butker announced the PAC shortly after endorsing far-right Missouri Senator Josh Hawley for re-election. Hawley, known for raising his fist in solidarity with January 6 protesters before fleeing from them as they stormed the Capitol, frequently discusses the "collapse of American manhood" and the crisis of men retreating into "idleness, pornography, and video games".
Although the Upright Pac website doesn't explicitly mention Donald Trump, Butker informed Ingraham that he would support the former president due to his stance on abortion. "I believe Donald Trump is the most pro-life president," Butker said. This might create awkward moments at Kansas City Chiefs events since Swift endorsed Kamala Harris. With just weeks left until the election, Butker's new PAC isn't likely to significantly impact Trump's chances. But its future potential remains uncertain. His decision to rally Christian voters through a PAC highlights a broader issue: the disproportionate influence of special interest groups and influential individuals in shaping U.S. politics.
In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court's contentious Citizens United ruling relaxed campaign finance restrictions, allowing corporations and special interest groups to spend unlimited funds on elections as long as there was no direct coordination with political candidates or parties. This opened the door for Super PACs, sophisticated legal structures enabling large (often hidden) funds to flow into campaigns. Jimmy Carter has called this legalized "bribery". PACs have played a crucial role in this election cycle. For instance, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has spent over $100 million on federal elections so far and may have contributed to unseating Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush, two of Congress's most vocal critics of Israel's actions in Gaza. A Guardian analysis found that the most supportive members of Congress during the first six weeks of the Gaza conflict benefited from donations from pro-Israel groups like AIPAC.
AIPAC isn't the only group toppling politicians. Fairshake PAC, backed by the cryptocurrency industry, might have hindered Katie Porter's advancement in her run for the U.S. Senate in California earlier this year. Fairshake, supported by cryptocurrency leaders, spent millions on ads urging crypto enthusiasts to vote against Porter. Meanwhile, Elon Musk has donated approximately $75 million over the past three months to his pro-Trump America PAC.
In summary, Butker is part of a crowded field. Nowadays, anyone with a grievance and some money has a PAC. If you want to buy influence and sway elections, they're essential. While it's still early for Butker's PAC, he certainly has substantial support. The Kansas City Chiefs' owner expressed no concerns about his player's political foray. This is noteworthy because athletes leaning left are often criticized for political involvement. Laura Ingraham, who is thrilled about Butker's political move, famously told basketball star LeBron James to "shut up and dribble" in 2018 after he discussed the challenges of being Black and a public figure in the U.S. during an ESPN interview. "It's unwise to seek political advice from someone earning $100 million a year to bounce a ball," she quipped. Butker, on the other hand, earns $6.4 million annually to play football, and no one on the right has told him to stay silent and kick.
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