I’m writing this just after seeing a nicely raucous parade of protesters pass by FCNL on their way to the Capitol, shouting, “Money Out of Politics! Money Out of Politics!” You might see them on the news and wonder: What’s FCNL doing about this?
Answer: Listening.
Question: Really? Just listening?
Of course, there’s more. Actually, we’re pretty excited about it.
We’re starting to see that the undue influence of money in politics might be a symptom, not the disease itself. We’re thinking more broadly, and it’s opening up possibilities for action.
The problem is the fundamental disconnect many of us feel between us and the representatives we elect. How can we take back politics, build integrity, and restore faith in democracy?
Switching our perspective from a negative “anti-money” focus to a positive “how can we promote democracy” focus has been very energizing. Even in the wake of Citizens United, there are steps we can take to promote democracy – many of which we’ve been calling for all along:
- Expanding public financing of campaigns
- Encouraging broader participation by “the people,” for example matching or giving tax credits for small campaign donations
- Increasing accountability and transparency
- Pursuing congressional capability to set reasonable campaign contribution limits
This presidential primary season has shown that surprising things can happen when people feel their involvement in elections matters. Meanwhile, members of Congress are feeling the pressures of incessant fundraising themselves. You can help keep the issue in the forefront. As the election continues, write letters to the editor. Ask candidates to tell you how they plan to address concentrated money in politics. Urge them to take a public stand about their own campaigns. For example, Rep. Beto O’Rourke (TX) has refused to take PAC contributions since November 2014. Would your representative agree to do the same?
Unfortunately, the pathway to progress is blocked by the current framing of this issue in partisan terms. Some useful bills, including a public financing bill and a disclosure act, are supported so far almost exclusively by Democrats. Republicans in the House have introduced a few new bills, including one to strengthen the FEC, a bill addressing credit-card contributions, and another limiting Congressional “dialing for dollars.” For the last few years, FCNL has supported a constitutional amendment addressing money in politics, but amendments proposed in in Congress have seen no significant movement. Congress continues to view this issue through an extremely partisan lens.
So FCNL’s been quietly doing what we’ve done in the past when partisan discord made it seem like nothing good could happen – we’ve started a quiet “listening tour” of conversations with staffers from offices on both sides of the aisle. We’re listening. It’s been interesting.
One thing I didn’t expect was staffers saying they’re not hearing much from their constituents. As a former member of FCNL’s Policy Committee, when getting input from Quakers around the country on our priorities for lobbying, ”Citizens United” or “money in politics “ was usually number one. Maybe folks feel it’s pointless to talk to members of Congress, so they don’t.
So the march going past our doors is important. Congress needs to hear that lots of folks “out there” care. But it’s also important to work, step by step, to make progress through quiet conversations and other paths for building and maintaining ties between members of Congress and the constituents they have the honor to represent.
