The latest news from Issue One as we unite Republicans, Democrats, and independents in the movement to fix our broken political system.
We’ve spent lots of time here at Issue One urging all the presidential candidates to speak more about solutions to money in politics if they want to prove their reformer bona fides. This is more true than ever today, with Center for Public Integrity publishing an in-depth look about Secretary Hillary Clinton’s close ties to a universe of super PACs
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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Issue One advisory board member Alan Solomont is out with an op-ed in Roll Call with a simple call to action: to get millennial participation in politics up, we’ve got to reduce the influence of money in politics. The op-ed marks the second anniversary of a little-known Supreme Court case called McCutcheon vs. FEC, which eliminated caps on the total amount
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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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In an exciting first year of work the ReFormers have helped move money in politics to the front of the political debate. One year ago former members of Congress on Issue One’s Advisory Board invited fellow former members to learn more about Issue One’s work, and invited them to join the fight to reduce the power of money in American politics. Twenty-one former
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Today’s reminder that reform isn’t just about winning an election! Tallahassee, Florida, where a Tea Party/progressive grassroots alliance passed strong new ethics rules and citizen-funding of elections, is officially turning on the engine of their new system. The 2014 ballot initiative was backed by 67 percent of voters, and is proof that the push for a stronger democracy transcends party lines. Back
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File this one under “Obvious, Captain.”: Missourians overwhelmingly support tougher ethics laws for public officials, according to a new poll. Ethics rules are some of the least discussed (but most critical) aspects of a strong, robust campaign finance system. When elected officials are truly beholden to the people they represent instead of special interests who may try to influence our
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Voters are finally beginning to learn who is funding political campaigns in their states. According to a recent poll conducted by the National Conference of State Legislatures, thirty-eight states are considering new disclosure laws that would require dark money organizations to disclose donors, including one proposed in Arkansas by Representative Clarke Tucker. Dark money groups have become highly influential in
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Among the many solutions that could be enacted today without a constitutional amendment, perhaps one of the most important is an overhaul of the notoriously dysfunctional Federal Election Commission. Charged with enforcing existing campaign finance rules, this agency is so gridlocked by partisan politics that commissioners not only have failed to prevent super PACs and other outside spenders from dominating
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Tens of millions of political dollars have been injected into the 12 states holding their primaries this Super Tuesday as the presidential candidates angle for the 1,639 delegates that are up for grabs. Because of such massive outlays, political spending in 2016 will likely reach $10 billion, blowing the roof off all previous records. Yet, amidst the blinding blizzard of
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