💡 Can voting be fair if most people only hear from the wealthiest candidates?

I just opened a discussion on Reddit about campaign visibility and structural reform.

Would love your thoughts → https://www.reddit.com/r/electionreform/comments/1l2a83w/can_voting_be_fair_if_only_wealthy_candidates_can/

#VotingRights #CampaignFinanceReform #Democracy #Fediverse

Today is the 15 year anniversary of the Citizens United vs. FEC Supreme Court decision, this was the tipping point to where we are today. Campaign spending by corporations and other outside groups increased by nearly 900% between 2008 and 2016. In 2020, total election spending was $14.4 billion, up from $5.7 billion in 2018, and more than $1 billion in dark money was spent. #Democracy #uspol #CampaignFinanceReform #Corruption #oligarchy https://campaignlegal.org/update/how-does-citizens-united-decision-still-affect-us-2025

Shortening campaign timelines would reduce the role of money in politics, lessen voter burnout, and allow leaders to focus on governing instead of constant fundraising. The endless election cycle only benefits the wealthy and entrenched politicians. #CampaignFinanceReform

4/6

"Though #Democrats ultimately outraised and outspent #Republicans in the fall election, the GOP flipped four Democratic seats and will enter 2025 with a six-seat majority in the chamber." #Michigan #USPol #CampaignFinanceReform #Capitalism https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/billionaires-dark-money-dominate-record-setting-michigan-election-spending

Maine's voter-approved $5,000 limit on individual super PAC donations is under legal attack by conservative groups citing free speech concerns. The Labor Party advocates for such reforms to ensure a more equitable democratic process. Does limiting large donations enhance or hinder our democracy? #CampaignFinanceReform #Democracy #MainePolitics #CampaignFinance #PoliticalReform #MoneyInPolitics #EqualityInDemocracy #FreeSpeechDebate #VoterRights #PoliticalTransparency https://buff.ly/4gvXAUZ

We used to have publicly-financed presidential elections. The #Democrats sabotaged the system in 2008 and it's been a grift ever since. Bring back #PublicFinancing. #CampaignFinanceReform #USPol https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/how-much-of-the-harris-campaign-was-a-scam

Almost no discussion of grassroots organizing here, but the word "donors" shows up four times in the article, in sentences like this: "...liberal advocacy organizations will present their strategies at the fall meeting of the Democracy Alliance, a private gathering of some of the party’s richest donors." #ElectoralReform #CampaignFinanceReform #Democrats #USPol https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/16/us/politics/democrats-anti-trump-battle-plan.html?unlocked_article_code=1.aU4.5qvp.45pMNpu0kmKY&smid=url-share

Glad to see these issues getting more attention. Both #Republicans and #Democrats -- even those who call themselves "progressive" -- have come out against #ElectoralReform and #CampaignFinanceReform. The #Megadonors have taken over both parties, at the federal, state and local levels. It's time for the grassroots to push back. #AnnArbor #USPol #Michigan #MAGA

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/16/republicans-democrats-electoral-reform

#ElectoralReform and #CampaignFinanceReform was also on the ballot in local jurisdictions like #AnnArbor. But local #Democrats have shifted so far to the right that they actually oppose this stuff now. #USPol #Michigan #Megadonors #MAGA

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/15/electoral-reform-ballot-measures

@christinkallama We just had a #CampaignFinanceReform proposal on the ballot in supposedly “progressive” #AnnArbor. It was opposed by almost every single elected official — all Democrats — who ran a nasty smear campaign. It lost. I hope I’m wrong, but it looks like the megadonors have permanent control of both parties now, at the federal, state, and local levels. The grassroots is no longer relevant to them. We should probably adjust our strategies accordingly.

Former #Michigan congressperson #AndyLevin is good people. He lost his seat in a primary in which his opponent received over $4 million from #AIPAC. #USPol #Vote2024 #Judaism #ReconstructingJudaism #Religion #Palestine #CampaignFinanceReform https://evolve.reconstructingjudaism.org/author/andy-levin/

“Musk’s net worth increased by $2.7 billion on Friday, according to Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires, a database that serves as a reminder of just how far our supposedly egalitarian American experiment has devolved into plutocracy—or oligarchy, if you prefer—a situation that founder John Adams had hoped we would avoid (though he wasn’t terribly confident that we would).” 🤢🤬

#Oligarchy #Plutocracy #Capitalism #Politics #USPolitics #Election2024 #CampaignFinanceReform

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/10/elon-musk-donald-trump-campaign-funding-money-democracy-philanthropy-foundations/

@anemone @mdwray YES.

There hasn't been a version of the Republican party that wasn't at least flirting with fascism since at least a generation before I was born.

And while we're at it, a lack of a robust, genuine alternative is a big part of why we are where we are now.

#nationalpopularvotecompact #electoralreform #judicialreform #Campaignfinancereform

These Texas oligarchs belong to the world @anneapplebaum describes as Autocracy, Inc. Not taxing the ultra wealthy sufficiently is causing our democracy to rot. So is the obscene amount of dark money we now take for granted in political campaigns.

#Texas #Oligarchs #TaxTheRich #CampaignFinanceReform https://masto.ai/@socprof/113241350474129831

Candidates from all over USA blowing up my SMS with the same message WTF 💰 💸 🤑 #Politics #Captialism #USPol #CampaignFinanceReform #SpinalTap https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0MGZTdcgx8

So #AnnArbor has an initiative on November's ballot enabling publicly-financed elections. The local #DemocraticParty leadership has hired a bunch of lawyers to declare it illegal. Wankers! 🖕 😝 #USPol #Washtenaw #Michigan #Vote2024 #CampaignFinanceReform #Politics cc: @washtenawdems https://www.mlive.com/politics/2024/09/fair-elections-fund-proposal-in-ann-arbor-conflicts-with-state-law-ags-office-says.html

Former #AnnArbor City Council member Elizabeth Nelson is good people. If you're in Ann Arbor, please consider voting for Proposals C and D this November. #Washtenaw #LaborDay #CampaignFinanceReform #Democracy #A2Future #A2Council #A2NonPartisan #USPol cc: @A2ELNEL https://www.tiktok.com/@a2elnel/video/7410115860431490347?lang=en

@GottaLaff Glover was also interviewed on The Bulwark podcast today. Very informative. Raises a lot of questions about trump's campaign fundraising, and the functioning of the FEC.

#Campaignfinancereform
#overturncitizensunited

Almost every time someone in a position to solve a problem claims they'd love to solve it but they've tried everything and it didn't work, if you look closer you'll find one or more "sacred cow" solutions that have never been tried. The conversation then goes like this:

Q: To address __X__ have you tried __Y__?
A: That would never work! There's no reason to try it!

The person answering tends to get upset, which is why I put in the "!"

Examples:

X = University financial crises
Y = Reduce administration budgets

X = #Abortion frequency
Y = Healthcare, maternal care, childcare

X = Poverty
Y = Giving money to poor people

X = #IncomeInequality
Y = Wealth tax

X = #Corporate takeover of everything
Y = #Enforcement of #regulations

X = #gunviolence
Y = Gun control laws

X = US political #polarization
Y = RCV, no more electoral college, no more #filibuster...

X = Political polarization
Y = Campaign finance reform

X = Illegal immigration
Y = Enforcing minimum wage, punishing companies employing undocumented immigrants

X = Prostitution
Y = Prosecute the johns, UBI, free college

X = Palestinian #genocide
Y = Not giving/selling Israel any more weapons

etc.

(edit: added the bits about prostitution & undocumented immigrants)

#problem #solution #NotThat #campaignFinanceReform #CitizensUnited #AdministrativeBloat #HigherEd #ubi

It *should* be hard to believe that a Democrat would oppose campaign finance reform, especially in a town with almost no Republican opposition. And yet it seems that those in power are perhaps a little too satisfied with the status quo. Caveat emptor. #AnnArbor #Michigan #CampaignFinanceReform #Democrats #Politics #USPol https://us3.campaign-archive.com/?u=a346f7bb4c7ddb07e6f535e4b&id=a460c1e068