DEMOS Report on How Citizens United Harms Democracy

Demos is a public policy organization working for an America where we all have an equal say in our democracy and an equal chance in our economy.

Their name means “the people.”  It is the root word of democracy, and it reminds us that in America, the true source of our greatness is the diversity of our people.  Our nation’s highest challenge is to create a democracy that truly empowers people of all backgrounds, so that we all have a say in setting the policies that shape opportunity and provide for our common future.  To help America meet that challenge, Demos is working to reduce both political and economic inequality, deploying original research, advocacy, litigation, and strategic communications to create the America the people deserve.

This report was written by Liz Kennedy.

The report includes:

TOP 5 WAYS CITIZENS UNITED HARMS DEMOCRACY

1. Big money in politics allows a wealthy elite few to overpower other voices to an unprecedented degree, at all levels of government.

2. Secret political spending exploded after Citizens United because the disclosure requirements relied on by the Court do not yet exist.

3. The purported “independence” of outside spending is often a farce, allowing for evasion of contribution limits and disclosure requirements.

4. Big money in politics distorts representation and responsiveness, preventing effective policy solutions supported by majorities of Americans.

5. The Supreme Court’s decisions have distorted the Constitution by preventing common-sense rules to protect representative self-government.

TOP 5 WAYS WE’RE FIGHTING TO TAKE DEMOCRACY BACK

1. We must reclaim the Constitution to empower the people to adopt common-sense rules to protect our democratic government from being dominated by big money.

2. We must support the participation of small donors and empower every voice through public financing.

3. We must adopt effective disclosure requirements for political spending because voters deserve this information and knowledge is necessary for accountability.

4. We must prevent the evasion of contribution limits and disclosure requirements by strengthening anti-coordination rules to enforce actual independence for any outside spending.

5. We must continue to take action to demand solutions to the problem of big money’s domination of democratic government.

CLICK HERE to read the 20 page (PDF) report.











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