Campaign Finance Reform
Only living, breathing human beings have the right to vote. They should have the right to donate to the candidate of their choice. Corporations, unions, non-profit organizations and other groups that do not have the right to vote should not be permitted to donate to candidates.
Individuals should only have the right to donate to candidates that are running for office within their state and local electoral districts. Donations from people who live outside the electoral districts should be prohibited.
We agree with Our Revolution:
"As former President Jimmy Carter recently said, unlimited money in politics, “violates the essence of what made America a great country in its political system. Now, it’s just an oligarchy, with unlimited political bribery being the essence of getting the nominations for president or to elect the president. And the same thing applies to governors and U.S. Senators and congress members. So now we’ve just seen a complete subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors, who want and expect and sometimes get favors for themselves after the election’s over.”
"Our vision for American democracy should be a nation in which all people, regardless of their income, can participate in the political process, can run for office without begging for contributions from the wealthy and the powerful."
"Our vision for the future of this country should be one in which candidates are not telling billionaires at special forums what they can do for them."
"Our vision for democracy should be one in which candidates are speaking to the vast majority of our people – working people, the middle class, low-income people, the elderly, the children, the sick, and the poor – and discussing with them their ideas as to how we can improve lives for all of the people in this country."
We agree with the For a People's Party Platform:
"Money in politics is the issue that is most hampering progress today. Donations from the pharmaceutical industry keep drug prices high. Donations from the insurance industry block the adoption of Medicare for all. Donations from the prison industry keep harsh drug laws in place. Donations from the military industry keep us in a perpetual state of war. Donations from the fast food lobby keep wages at starvation levels. Donations from the oil lobby prevent us from taking on climate change. Money in politics is the bottleneck that is preventing the dam from breaking on the many progressive policies that the public desperately needs."
"We must seal off all avenues of undue influence that the oligarchs have over our politics. Ban super PACs, independent expenditures and dark money, shutting down unlimited and untransparent outside spending. Close the revolving door between Washington and Wall Street, whereby corporations reward politicians for doing their bidding with cushy jobs and high salaries once they leave office. Prevent corporate executives from holding elected office or being appointed to regulatory positions, where they presently oversee the industries they just departed and collect big bonuses for regulating favorably. Bar politicians from taking lobbyist money and gifts while in office or on the campaign trail. Our mission must be to abolish corporate money and influence from our politics once and for all. It is the principle upon which all others hinge."
"We must pass anti-corruption laws by referendum where possible and fight for a constitutional amendment that declares that corporations are not people and money is not speech. We must ban bundling and switch to the full public funding of our elections. We must reverse the Citizens United decision that flooded politics with big money."
"The establishment parties are so intertwined with corporate dollars that the money and parties are no longer distinguishable from one another; big money pervades the organizations down to their DNA. They are inherently highly-centralized, undemocratic and unaccountable to the public. They are corrupt by design and impervious to internal democracy at a fundamental structural level."
"Abolish legalized corruption by getting corporate, billionaire and dark money out of our politics and switching to the public financing of elections. Ban lobbyists from making contributions to parties, politicians, their staff, and their families. Lobbyists should only be allowed to persuade politicians on the merits of their arguments, not the size of their bribes. Prohibit politicians from fundraising during working hours. Strengthen the definition of a lobbyist and eliminate other lobbyist loopholes. Strengthen enforcement at the Federal Elections Commission."
We agree with the Peace and Freedom Party Platform of 2014:
"End corporate personhood: Corporations are not people and money is not speech."
We agree with the Justice Democrats:
"Super PACs should be banned, private donations to politicians and campaigns should be banned, and a clean public financing system should be implemented to end the takeover of our government by corporations and billionaires. Americans deserve free and fair elections — free from the corruption of big money donors. The Supreme Court has effectively legalized bribery."
We agree with Andrew Yang 2020:
"Money has overrun our politics, and that needs to change. Corporations and the wealthy have enough advantages without being able to influence every election by putting up millions of dollars and bending the ear of every candidate and officeholder. We will return to the essence of democracy – where each person’s vote is heard and treated equally."
We agree with Brand New Congress:
"The influence of money in politics has moved our government away from a democracy and towards a plutocracy. In order to create a government that is truly accountable to the people rather than corporate interests, we need legislation that gets money out of politics once and for all.
Money in politics has halted legislative progress on a myriad of issues that are important to the American people. Two particularly relevant issues are campaign finance and political lobbying. Large sums of money are thrown at candidates from wealthy individuals and corporations in order to elevate career politicians to a place where it’s extremely difficult from them to be challenged. The marriage between money and politics doesn’t stop there, as the wealthy individuals and corporate interests who bankrolled the campaigns of establishment politicians expect an open ear when lobbying them to cater to their interests in office.
The Citizens United Supreme Court decision further exacerbated this problem by allowing super PACs to spend unlimited sums of money on the candidates of their choosing. This decision must be reversed by a Constitutional amendment that gives the federal government and states more control over campaign finance, and ceases to consider corporate money the same as speech. We must also maximize transparency in political contributions by passing legislation that requires wealthy donors to disclose who they give money to."
CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES:
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