Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse used his time at the confirmation hearing for Judge Amy Coney Barrett to give a presentation about how "dark money" was playing a role in the Supreme Court nomination process.
Last week Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island gave a 30-minute powerful pull-the-curtain-back presentation during his opening remarks at the Senate Amy Coney Barrett SCOTUS confirmation hearing. We highly recommend you set aside a half-hour of Netflix to watch his extraordinarily revealing testimony.
What's the gist? That since Citizens United became law, conservative activists have spent $250 million in a behind the scenes campaign to remake our courts. As Senator Whitehouse points out, "$250 million is a lot to spend if you're not getting anything for it". What did they get? They got 60 percent majority control while representing only about 30% of our country on our most hot button issues, ie., the ACA, Roe v. Wade, same-sex marriage, and voter suppression based on race.
For decades, but particularly since the Citizens United decision, megadonors and lobbyists for special interests have exercised far too much influence within U.S. politics. Megadonors fund those who are the most likely to do legislative favors for the businesses and industries that are the sources of their wealth.
Sadly, America is on the verge of being a full-fledged plutocratic oligarchy: just look at the widening wealth gaps. The middle class, which was the guiding force in our democratic republic, no longer has much political influence.
Massive amounts of money are spent on American political campaigns. According to Open Secrets, an election finance watchdog, a record $6.5 billion was spent during the 2016 election cycle and it's clear our 2020 election cycle will see a new record in spending.
Political candidates are forced to spend a minimum of 5 hours per day raising campaign dollars, which doesn't leave them much time listening to anyone who can't contribute to their coffers in a significant way. There is no other word for this than corruption.
Recently we've seen megadonors get the ultimate payoff for their contributions via a tax plan and deregulatory programs. It's time to take back our power via anti-corruption legislation. Join us in the movement by helping us spread the word.
Lockheed Martin and Honeywell are just 2 examples of this everyday corruption and lack of fair play in our Government policy. Lockheed Martin was cited for 88 cases of misconduct and paid $767.8M in penalties since 1995, while Honeywell International Inc. paid $741.8M in penalties for 66 instances of misconduct since 1995. There doesn’t seem to be a limit of misconduct to keep contracts from being awarded to law/rule breakers NOR to keep politicians from accepting their money.
We often say, “Don’t hate the players - hate the game” and this is more evidence of just how broken our system is. This article points to high profile Democrats who are benefiting from these power structures. Make It Fair has long noted that the rules are written to force precisely these interactions and outcomes regardless of party. Sadly, the candidate with the most money wins 93% of the time. If a candidate in any competitive district doesn’t hop aboard the money train, they have very little chance of winning. As long as ‘money is voice’ in our political system, it’s clear we should expect corruption as the norm. Until we have legislation that controls money’s influence, we will not see justice and fair play.
Next time you feel frustrated about not being heard by your government representative, just whisper this little truth to yourself: “Oh yeah, the system is rigged.”
Our host, Harmon Dash, sits down with the founder of Indivisible NOLA, Joyce Vansean, for a conversation about social justice, quality of life, and activism in the New Orleans area.
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