Today’s badly broken campaign finance system benefits wealthy interests, and leaves hundreds of millions of ordinary Americans on the outside looking in at Washington’s rigged system.
Fred Wertheimer, president of the nonprofit Democracy 21 who’s tracked campaign fundraising since the Watergate era, said in a phone interview the fundraising this year is more than “anything we’ve seen in our lifetimes.” Outside groups can focus money on the most competitive races, and the result, he said, “is a campaign finance system dominated […]
Biden Announces A First Priority for a Biden Administration Will Be Comprehensive Reforms, as Reflected in H.R. 1 Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden announced yesterday “A first priority of a Biden Administration will be to lead on a comprehensive set of reforms like those reflected in the For the People Act (H.R. 1) to […]
President Trump, in a Surprise Move, Apparently Embraces Public Financing of Elections – But Only for Himself Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer In a surprise move, and in the face of Senate Majority Leader McConnell’s longstanding opposition, President Trump now appears to have embraced public financing of elections – but only for his […]
One Year Later, The Battle For H.R. 1 Goes On Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer This coming Sunday, March 8, marks one year since the House passed H.R. 1, historic democracy reform legislation to repair the nation’s broken political system and corrupt campaign finance system. While Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has blocked […]
FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | MARCH 5, 2020 “Our battle for H.R. 1 will be fought for as long as it takes to win.” This coming Sunday, March 8, marks one year since the House passed H.R. 1, historic democracy reform legislation to repair the nation’s broken political system and corrupt campaign finance system. While […]
Senate Republicans Make Partisan Move to Add A Republican Commissioner to Currently-Defunct FEC, Ignore Democratic Vacancy Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer Since last September, the Federal Election Commission has had only three Commissioners. It has therefore been unable to take any oversight and enforcement actions, as four Commissioners are necessary to constitute a […]
Enclosed for your information is a piece by Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer entitled, “Trump’s $580,600 Per Couple Fundraiser Tomorrow is the Direct Result of the Supreme Court’s Decision in McCutcheon v. FEC that was ‘Divorced from Reality’” which was published on Medium on February 14, 2020. Read the full article here or below. Trump’s […]
Enclosed for your information is an op-ed by Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer entitled, “The legacy of ‘Citizens United’ has been destructive. We need campaign finance reform,” published here in The Washington Post on January 20, 2020. According to the piece: As long as Citizens United stands, political money corruption will continue in Washington unless […]
FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | JANUARY 16, 2020 An interview by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and a campaign spending decision by Michael Bloomberg could have a profound impact on Donald Trump’s presidency and his race for a second term. Maddow’s explosive interview occurred last night with Lev Parnas, who is under indictment for violations of federal […]
Enclosed for your information is a press release from the Campaign Legal Center regarding a letter from groups, including Democracy 21, which urged the White House and Senate to restore the FEC voting quorum with commissioners who are committed to enforcing the nation’s campaign finance laws. Read the full letter here and the release below […]
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