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Solutions 101: What is Disclosure?
Disclosure is the foundation of campaign finance regulation. Being able to follow the money in our elections allows the public to hold those who give it and spend it responsible.…
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While several candidates in last night’s CNBC Republican primary debate made mention of the side effects of money in politics, once again, none offered substantive solutions to fix America’s governing crisis.
Both Carly Fiorina and Sen. Ted Cruz decried the insidious symbiotic relationship between government, special interests and lobbyists. But without providing concrete policies, such as banning contributions from lobbyists to campaigns or signing an executive order mandating disclosure of political spending by companies that get federal contracts, both candidates failed to capitalize on the public’s increasing desire for reform.
Donald Trump continued his populist streak with a takedown of the increasingly dominant role super PACs are playing in the Republican primary. Said Trump, “Super PACs are a disaster. They’re a scam. They cause dishonesty. And you had better get rid of them, because they are causing a lot of bad decisions to be made by some very good people.” We agree! But Mr. Trump too failed to give details on how he would crack down on outside groups, even after a recent Washington Post article pointed out how his campaign has been taking advantage of weak super PAC regulations.
Former Governor and 2012 Republican candidate Jon Huntsman and Ambassador Tim Roemer had some choice words for the people on last night’s stage, both candidates and moderators. In a Politico op-ed yesterday, they said, “the debates are an opportunity to not just harp on what’s broken, but also to offer articulated policies that will ensure all citizens feel represented by their government.”
As the primary season continues to heat up, former elected officials in Issue One’s ReFormers Caucus will continue to hold candidates from both parties accountable. Next week, the ReFormers will publicly launch their efforts on Capitol Hill, using their collective voices to start a game-changing conversation on the real types of reform Americans want. Find out more about our event here.
Issue: Money in Politics
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Disclosure is the foundation of campaign finance regulation. Being able to follow the money in our elections allows the public to hold those who give it and spend it responsible.…
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The presumed frontrunner for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination had raised millions of dollars, traveled around the country, and given speech after speech about the future of the nation, all before…
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Some good news out of Alabama, where state legislators have recognized that without well-defined regulations and clear enforcement mechanisms, it is impossible to monitor the flow of money into and out…