Janet Domenitz
Executive Director, MASSPIRG
Executive Director, MASSPIRG
MASSPIRG Education Fund
Washington, D.C. – A new analysis released today of the funding sources for the campaign finance behemoths, Super PACs, confirms what many have predicted in the wake of the Supreme Court’s damaging Citizens United decision: since their inception in 2010, Super PACs have been primarily funded by a small segment of very wealthy individuals and business interests, with a small but significant amount of funds coming from secret sources.
“Super PACs represent much of what is wrong with American democracy rolled neatly into one package,” commented MASSPIRG Executive Director Janet Domenitz. “They are becoming bullhorns, financed by powerful special interests, while the voices of ordinary Americans become mere whispers.”
“Super PACs are like kryptonite for our democracy,” added Demos Democracy Counsel Adam Lioz. “They undermine core principles of political equality in favor of a bully-based system where the strength of a citizen’s voice depends upon the size of her wallet.”
Some of the most striking findings in the report are:
In Auctioning Democracy, Demos and U.S. PIRG offer recommendations for pushing back on the influence of Super PACs, specifically tailored to the Federal Election Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the White House, the United States Congress, State Legislatures and even Municipal Governments.
“The Securities and Exchange Commission must act immediately to force publicly traded corporations to disclose their political spending,” asserted Domenitz.
“Ultimately, the people must rise up and amend our Constitution to make perfectly clear that the First Amendment is not a tool for use by large corporations and wealthy donors to dominate the political process,” added Lioz.
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Auctioning Democracy includes both a report and a series of infographics, available for use (with attribution).
Read the Auctioning Democracy report here.
View the appendix featuring Business Contributions to Super PACs here.