We're The Closest We've Ever Been To Campaign Finance Reform

[turbinetree]

By Adam Eichen
|
March 4, 2020 7:00 a.m.

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis.

The movement for major campaign finance reform is closer to overhauling our system than at any point in the previous four decades.


Last year, the House of Representatives passed HR 1, the For The People Act, an omnibus pro-democracy bill that included public financing of congressional elections — the most effective way to democratize political influence. Though the bill languishes in the Senate thanks to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), every major Democratic presidential candidate has now pledged to pass public financing if elected.

In other words, with a change in control of government, meaningful money in politics reform is finally within reach. But underneath this progress is a growing split among reformers over the details of a federal public financing system. And the stakes of this debate could have radical implications for the future of democracy.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who has centered her 2020 presidential bid on an anti-corruption platform, has endorsed a small donor matching system in which all donations under $200 are matched at a rate of 6-to-1. That means that a $10 donation becomes $70 dollars.

Such a plan is largely based on that of New York City, which has boasted a successful public financing system for decades. It was also the model included in the For The People Act.

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/campaign-finance-reform-bernie-sanders-elizabeth-warren-money-politics

[Sherman A1]

1. I like Yang's concept of Democracy Dollars

to drown out the influence of big, dark money.