The Issues
Campaign Finance Reform
Our Founders pledged their lives, their liberty and their sacred honor to build a democracy – a government of the many, not of the money. After misguided and destructive Supreme Court decisions in McCutcheon and Citizens United, it is clear that Congress must act swiftly to restore confidence in the bedrock of our democracy: the principle that, in the United States of America, it is the voices of the people, not the bank accounts of the privileged few, that determine the outcome of our elections and the policies of our government.
We must reduce the role of money and increase the level of civility in our politics. Doing this, we know we can break the grip of the special interests and elect more women, more minorities, more young people, and more public servants dedicated to the common good.
WHAT DEMOCRATS ARE DOING
From Seneca Falls, New York to Selma, Alabama, Americans have always stood up against status quos that did not live up to the promises of our Founders. Today’s generation must do the same. We must D.A.R.E. to reclaim our politics:
- Disclose the sources of money in our campaigns,
- Amend the Constitution to reverse the grievous error of the Citizens United decision,
- Reform our campaign finance system, and
- Empower citizens everywhere to exercise their right to vote.
Democrats are committed to taking action to empower the voices of the American people. That’s why we introduced the Government by the People Act, a straightforward piece of legislation that would:
- Encourage participation of everyday Americans in the funding of campaigns through tax credits,
- Incentivize candidates to focus on small-dollar contributions rather than large donations from wealthy corporations, and
- Give additional support to citizen-backed candidates in the homestretch of a campaign.
These common-sense reforms, funded by closing tax loopholes enshrined by powerful special interests, would go a long way towards taking back our politics. Together, we can build a government that answers to the people – and we can reassert the promise of our democracy.