PSSST: We Don't Need To Wait to Overturn Citizen's United To End Money In Politics

Not kidding, here's how

For those who hate the corrupt nature of money in politics, please know there are many options to end these unethical and immoral, yet, currently-legal practices. We simply need our leaders to implement them. While some still believe the prevailing wisdom is “…well, we can’t end money in politics because we cannot overturn Citizen’s United with this group of justices, so we just have to wait 20 years until this conservative Supreme Court retires and is replaced.”

That is simply wrong. A myth.

Let’s bust that myth. We can work around the decision and still end several corrupt practices. Here’s how…

As a refresh, “Citizens United” is shorthand for a landmark 2010 Supreme Court case called Citizens United v. FEC, that changed the face of campaign finance and money in politics in the United States. Citizens United overturned certain long-standing restrictions on political fundraising and spending – transforming the entire political landscape of the country. Most notably, Citizens United granted corporations, nonprofits, and unions unlimited political spending power. This is where dark PACs and foreign lobbies can spend tens of millions to buy elections and never reveal the sources of that money.

As a recent example, AIPAC and some of their 20 affiliate shell PACs have already done this in Illinois, spending just $22 million in the Chicago area congressional elections

Corporations from the Crypto and AI industries have just spent over $20 million so far in the primary season in just a few states. We still have 45 state primaries to go.

So what can we do to stop all the corruption (after Dems win back the House and Senate)?

While we cannot get Citizens United fully overturned with this SCOTUS, we can get rid of the bite of Super PACs, stop foreign lobbies like AIPAC from buying elections and require full disclosure of donor sources from corporate PACs. We can do this the old-fashioned way, by passing legislation.

Yep, passing legislation was a thing Congress used to do and truly, can do again in the future.

In fact, there are pieces of legislation previously introduced and ready-to-be reintroduced for votes as soon as we get control back of both houses.

The following are examples of legislation that put a large dent in the harms caused by the Citizens United decision.

1. The “Drain The Swamp”

An act introduced by Ro Khanna:

· Bans Super PACs

· Stock Trading Ban: Prohibits Members of Congress and their spouses from holding or trading individual stocks, securities, or commodities while in office.

· Congressional Term Limits: Imposes a 12-year limit for members of the House and Senate.

· Lobbying & Gift Restrictions: Bans members and candidates from accepting contributions from lobbyists and PACs. It also reinstates strict rules preventing White House officials from accepting gifts from lobbyists.

· “Revolving Door“ Bans: Prohibits former members of Congress from lobbying for life and creates two-year cooling-off periods for officials entering or leaving government roles.

· Supreme Court Reform: Proposes a binding code of ethics, 18-year term limits, and regular appointments for Justices. It specifically targets ethics in the executive branch, including banning special “golden parachute” payments for officials entering government and enforcing merit-based hiring to prevent nepotism.

2. Expand the Supreme Court: Judiciary Act of 2021 & 2023:

Introduced by Senator Ed Markey and Representative Hank Johnson, this legislation aimed to expand the Court from nine to 13 justices. 50 members voted for this and now would likely enjoy more than twice that given what we have lived through recently.If enacted would allow the Supreme Court to be more balanced an allow for a fair decision on Citizens United, likely ending in overturning it.

3. We can also pass legislation that does the following.

Legislative and Regulatory Reforms…

• DISCLOSE Act: Requires organizations spending money in elections to disclose donors (no matter the amount of money given), effectively ending “dark money” groups.

• Stop Illegal Campaign Coordination Act: Strengthens rules to ensure Super PACs remain truly independent of candidates, eliminating “straw man” strategies.

• Public Campaign Financing: Implementing small-donor matching programs (like in New York State) reduces candidate reliance on mega-donors. Or, one of many other public financing models presented over the years.

• FEC Reform: Reforming or bypassing the dysfunctional Federal Election Commission to ensure existing campaign finance laws are actually enforced.

• Lobbyist/PAC Restrictions: Prohibiting lobbying firms and corporate PACs from directly funding candidates.

• Stop Foreign Lobby PACs: End PACs that serve to promote other nations, such as AIPAC

4. Corporate and Shareholder Action

• Shareholder Activism: Shareholders can demand transparency by forcing corporations to disclose all political spending.

• Foreign-Ownership Rules: Passing legislation that bans political spending by corporations with significant foreign ownership.

As one can see, there are many ways to stop money in politics and the related corruption. We just have to elect leaders who will implement the above.

The good news is we have several members of Congress who will support these measures. The bad news, there are currently not enough.

Your job? Put pressure on your elected officials to implement all of the above.

Have a great weekend folks!

M.

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