On January 30th, Issue One partnered with the U.S. Archives and the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress (USAFMC) to host a dynamic and robust discussion on the evolution and consequences of money in politics. On the 40th anniversary of Buckley v. Valeo, the case first responsible for conflating money with speech, panelists advocated for a series of reforms
Read More
Republican pollster Frank Luntz recently released polling data on what he is calling the “Snapchat Generation,” and it shows that young people are deeply concerned about corruption in America. “Corruption” is Public Enemy No. 1 to young Americans. They think it’s rampant, from Wall Street to Washington, and this rejection of corruption underlies all of their public policy opinions.” Luntz
Read More
Although we’ve reached the cold months of winter, states and municipalities have stayed hot in their fight to reduce the influence of money in politics. Here are the reform fights we’re keeping an eye on in 2016: In Arkansas, advocates are gathering signatures to put a money in politics reform initiative on the ballot. The ballot initiative would revamp disclosure
Read More
Yesterday a bipartisan group of former lawmakers and government officials issued strong statements to President Obama urging him to follow through with an executive order that would require federal contractors to disclose their political spending. Listen the the recording below. Executive Order Telepress Call Recording “We need to shine a bright light on the dark money in our federal contracting system,”
Read More
Tomorrow the conservative money-in-politics group Take Back Our Republic (TBOR) will be holding a rally in front of the White House to urge President Obama to issue an executive order requiring government contractors to disclose their political spending. Citing the possibility of foreign and other illicit contributions impacting American elections, TBOR strongly supports increased transparency in elections. Writing today in
Read More
Update: You can catch a replay of this event on C-SPAN 3 on Sunday, Feb. 28 at 11 a.m. To mark the 40th anniversary of the infamous Buckley vs. Valeo Supreme Court decision that first equated money with speech, Issue One partnered with the National Archives and the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress (USAFMC) to present a panel
Read More
Next Tuesday, during a telepress conference, Republican and Democratic former lawmakers will call on President Obama to issue an executive order that would require federal contractors to disclose their political spending. Speakers include former Governor Jon Huntsman (R-UT), Sec. of Transportation Ray LaHood (R-IL)[invited], Sec. of Agriculture Dan Glickman (D-KS) and Ambassador Tim Roemer (D-IN); all members of Issue One’s ReFormers Caucus.
Read More
Yesterday, President Obama traveled to Illinois to deliver a speech on the “better politics” he described last month in his final State of the Union. The main thrust? In order to reach our full potential as a nation, we must first address our broken political system, including dark money in elections. We’ve got to build a better politics. One that’s
Read More
Yesterday Governor Jeb Bush made headlines by saying, “If I could do it all again I’d eliminate the Supreme Court ruling,” referring to Citizens United. He added, “I would turn that on its head if I could.” It’s encouraging to see 2016 candidates on both sides of the aisle talking about the country’s money in politics crisis. The candidates are
Read More
In one of the most exciting moments of the entire 2016 campaign, Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders made the case for why money in politics reform is issue one. Yet they continue to focus on the wrong aspects of our broken system: Citizens United. Both candidates have spent months on the campaign trail explaining the insidious connections between
Read MoreRead “Why We Left Congress: How the Legislative Branch Is Broken and What We Can Do About It”
Issue One’s new joint report with the R Street Institute examines the legislative branch’s dysfunction through conversations with members who have voluntarily departed in the 2018 cycle. Read the full report and proposed solutions in “Why We Left Congress: How the Legislative Branch is Broken and What We Can Do About It” here.
