For four decades, the Supreme Court’s flawed approach to money in politics has gutted common-sense protections against the power of special interests and wealthy individuals. This defies our core democratic values.
More than 90 percent of voters (including 91 percent of Trump voters) say that it is important for Trump to nominate a Supreme Court justice open to limiting big money in politics.
Congressional Republicans and the Trump administration apparently believe that extremely basic workplace protections are too onerous to ask U.S. businesses to uphold.
President Trump called last night for “one of the largest increases in national defense spending in American history.” He has proposed increasing the military budget by $54 billion—a proposal that would require great sacrifice from working people in the form of cuts to vital health care, education and environmental services.
Much of America’s greatness is due to the contributions of immigrants. One of our founding fathers—Alexander Hamilton—was an immigrant from the Caribbean.
The throngs of protesters who attended the Women’s March on Washington, and who continue to demonstrate at airports, town halls, and on city streets around the country, have made clear that opposition to Donald Trump’s radical Republican agenda will be sustained and powerful. But to earn the trust of the majority of Americans who reject Trumpism, Democrats will have to go beyond simple resistance. They’ll have to show that if voters restore them to power, they’ll actually improve the lives of working families. [...]
When it comes to jobs, the fast food industry represents the worst of our economy: paying poverty wages; offering irregular, part-time hours; and providing few benefits. Wage theft and workplace safety hazards are rampant. An executive who has built his personal wealth on a fast food business model that treats working people as cheap and disposable is among the worst possible choices to lead the Department of Labor. Yet Donald Trump has selected fast food CEO Andrew Puzder for the responsibility of protecting American workers.
With the court split 4-4 on this and other issues, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Mr. Gorsuch’s record suggests he’s not the person to shift the tide toward building a democracy in which the size of our wallets doesn’t determine the strength of our voices. Senators must press for clear answers.
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Senior Fellow Wallace C. Turbeville, a beloved member of the Demos family since 2012. Wallace “Wally” Turbeville was among our country’s most respected and influential thought leaders and advocates for systemic financial reform as a core fight in the struggle for economic and racial justice.
Judge Neil Gorsuch is no champion for democracy, and his record on money in politics suggests he would continue the Court’s trajectory of expanding the power of the donor class.
What do people mean by “money in politics” or “campaign finance reform”? Running for office requires money—for staff, travel, TV ads, etc. In many countries, much of the cost of public elections is paid for by public funds, so the voters control the process and candidates are only accountable to their constituents. But in most places in the U.S., election campaigns are funded only with private money, most of it coming in the form of large checks from wealthy donors.
An all-star team of ethics experts and constitutional scholars sued Donald Trump today for immediately violating the Constitution’s prohibition on government officials receiving payments from foreign powers.
Women workers can keep the pressure on city- and state-level legislators ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.
"Find out what your city council is doing in terms of a fair working wage, paid leave, and paid sick days. Get those on the agenda. That is a lever that is much easier to influence."
The greatest challenge facing President-elect Trump is following through with his campaign promises to raise the living standard for working-class Americans and bring back manufacturing jobs.