Issue One is excited to announce that former Representative Zach Wamp (R-TN), an ardent conservative from Chattanooga, has agreed to co-chair Issue One’s ReFormers Caucus. He will serve along with former Representative and Ambassador to India Tim Roemer (D-IN) and former Representative Connie Morella (R-MD). “‘Drain the Swamp’ shouldn’t just be a campaign slogan, but inspiration and guidance for policymaking
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We’re excited to announce that we’ve just updated our groundbreaking Blueprints for Democracy report with the latest money-in-politics and lobbying reforms from across the U.S. During the 2016 elections voters around the country passed several different reforms to their state and local campaign finance systems. Many of the changes are unprecedented, they’re wholly new and innovative systems designed to meet
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Today, Issue One and the ReFormers Caucus launched an ambitious policy framework that aims to kickstart a bipartisan conversation in Washington about how to “drain the swamp,” get Congress back to working for the American people and make government more accountable and transparent. Our framework, titled “Returning Government to the American People,” is the result of months of deliberation with
Read MoreFollowing Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential contest early Wednesday morning, Issue One Executive Director Nick Penniman released the following statement: Donald Trump rides into the White House on a wave of populism from voters residing in both the reddest red states and the long-neglected pockets of swing contests throughout the country. His campaign was fueled by voters’ burning desire
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Issue One’s ReFormers Caucus is urging Secretary Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump to spell out their plans to fix our out-of-control campaign finance system at their first presidential debate. The text of the Caucus’ statement is below, and available here (PDF). STATEMENT OF REFORMERS CAUCUS: CANDIDATES MUST ADDRESS MONEY IN POLITICS AT FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE As Secretary Hillary Clinton
Read MoreSince 2015, our elected leaders have had to spend hours fundraising, instead of doing their jobs. One of the biggest problems with our campaign finance system is that the ever-escalating price of running for office traps elected officials in an endless cycle of fundraising. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there, and members of Congress either spend big or get
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While the 2016 presidential election has breached the $1 billion spending mark, less has been made of another, more damaging, part of our out-of-control campaign finance system: congressional “hard money” fundraising. The excerpt below, from the recently released book Nation On The Take, takes a deep dive on “dialing for dollars”—the activity that turns Members of Congress into glorified telemarketers
Read MoreThe ReFormers Caucus is kicking off a new campaign urging everyone—from the Beltway to the Heartland—to call money in politics a crisis. Why call money in politics a crisis? Money in politics is not a new problem, but it has gone from a slow burning issue to an out-and-out crisis for a number of reasons—from misguided Supreme Court decisions to
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Let’s stop giving members of Congress a pass. Here’s what I mean: While the media, and even the presidential candidates themselves, rail against super PACs, our democracy is being hollowed out by a problem that existed long before Citizens United—“hard money” fundraising by Congress. Last night, on Last Week Tonight, show host John Oliver absolutely eviscerated Congress for members’ endless
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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
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