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Republican Hypocrisy, Campaign Funds and the Downfall of American Democracy
Apparently, corporate input into politics is okay provided it’s only for the GOP
In 2010, the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case changed corporate influence in politics forever. After nearly a century of guidelines that prohibited corporations and wealthy donors from having outsized power in our democracy, the Supreme Court ruled that limiting corporate spending in politics was akin to limiting free speech — except the First Amendment and its protections of free speech were meant for actual people, not corporate entities.
Since then, we have seen political races whose candidates are raising mega money to the tune of billions, making it all but impossible for regular people to run for office. What’s worse, however, is that instead of being beholden to their actual constituents, politicians are now beholden to the CEOs and shareholders who fill their coffers. Republicans have been one of the biggest supporters of this shift in political giving, except of course when corporations decide to have actual opinions.
After Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp recently signed one of the most heinous voter suppression laws of our lifetimes — behind closed doors and away from the public — activists called on corporations like Georgia-based Delta and Coca-Cola to take action. Initially, those corporate statements were paltry at best, with Delta being the biggest offender and initially applauding the governor and the state for their action. This misstep was corrected, and following the new statements against state-sanctioned voter suppression, Major League Baseball decided to pull its All-Star game out of Georgia altogether. Enter Minority Leader Mitch McConnell into the chat, where the biggest offender to our democracy and progress altogether verbally threatened CEOs from getting involved in politics — wait, what?
“I find it completely discouraging to find a bunch of CEOs getting in the middle of politics,” McConnell said.
This is rich coming from a man who wouldn’t exist in politics today without the influence and suckling he does at the teat of corporate America. In 2003, McConnell personally filed a…
