Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a radio interview decried the clout that comes with money in Albany and blasted so-called “Super PACs” that can raise unlimited amounts of money.

Cuomo has said that he wants to overhaul the state’s campaign finance laws by closing loopholes, lowering contribution limits and instituting a public financing system similar to what’s in effect for New York City.

And in an interview on Susan Arbertter’s Capitol Pressroom, the Democratic governor said the issue was complicated by Supreme Court rulings that allow for even bigger campaign loopholes.

“The power of money in the Capitol is unbelievable,” he said, while also complaining that special interest groups have evolved sophisticated messaging shops over the years.

He also blasted political action committees that, without the coordination of a candidate, can raise and spend unlimited funds without public scrutiny of donors.

“Now you can be a candidate who has new, lower campaign limits, but the opponents have unregulated money in a Super PAC,” Cuomo said.

The governor has benefitted from the current campaign finance laws in New York, amassing a $14 million campaign war chest for his re-election bid that doesn’t come until 2014. He will attend a fundraiser in Erie County

And Cuomo has benefitted from the help of the Committee to Save New York — a coalition of real estate and business interests that has been compared to a Super PAC on the state level (though the comparisons are little off, considering CSNY registered, after some prodding, as a lobbying organization).

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Sivler has introduced a bill that would create a public financing system mirrored after New York City’s campaign finance laws (Democrats in the Senate yesterday touted a bill that would perform the same function).

The stumbling block on a public-financing plan is with the Senate Republicans, who have said that spending money on a public financing system is untenable in a difficult economy and that the money is better spent on education.

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