US Democracy Being Bought and Sold

How Corporations, Unions and Political Action Committees Are Shaping The Candidate Pool. 

Courtesy Of "Al-Jazeera"

Has money corrupted US politics beyond repair? The landmark Supreme Court case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruled that individuals working through corporations, unions, or independent political action committees, known as SuperPACs, could make unlimited campaign contributions. Now, candidates can depend on a handful of the wealthy in America to fund their campaigns even when they lack strong grassroots support.

In this episode of The Stream, we speak with Buddy Roemer, a Republican presidential candidate and former Governor of Louisiana, about the 2012 election. Also joining the show is Dylan Ratigan, host of The Dylan Ratigan Show and author of “Greedy Bastards.”

What do you think? What impact do these large donations have on US democracy? Send us your thoughts and comments on Facebook or Twitter using hashtag #AJStream.

On February 1, Super PACs were required to disclose the identities and dollar amounts of those who contributed to them through the end of 2011. Restore Our Future, the Super PAC that supports Mitt Romney, has raised by far the greatest amount at $30.2 million. Winning Our Future, the Super PAC that supports Newt Gingrich, has raised $2.1 million through 2011. After the reporting period ended, however, the Super PAC received an additional $10 million from multi-billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson.

Karl Rove, former senior advisor and deputy chief of staff to former President George W. Bush, has a Super PAC named American Crossroads which raised $18.4 million in 2011. The Federal Election Commission files reveal that 10 billionaires contributed to the Super PAC. American Crossroads also has an affiliate organization called Crossroads GPS which does not disclose its donors.

This New York Times infographic gives a detailed outline of all the ways that campaign funds can be given, received, and used.

Robert Reich, former US Labor Secretary and chairman of the nonpartisan citizen lobby Common Cause, explains how the Citizens United ruling allows corporations and wealthy individuals to donate unlimited funds and influence elections.

This infographic shows the political clout of the richest one one-hundredth per cent of Americans, who contribute a quarter of all the funds given to federal political campaigns. 




Dylan Ratigan hosts his own television show on MSNBC where he frequently criticises the relationship between corporations and the government. He was formerly a managing editor at Bloomberg LP and host of CNBC's Fast Money. He left both posts after what he believed to be the US government's mishandling of the 2008 global financial crisis. Ratigan frequently criticises the government's banking, trade, and tax policies and expresses solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement. This video shows him addressing the Occupy crowd in New York City during the early weeks of the movement.





Ratigan labels the relationship between outside money and politics as an "unholy alliance." He highlights parts of the political process that need reform, such as closed primaries and gerrymandering, and offers his solution to the problems.




Ratigan is vocal about his desire for a constitutional amendment that bans outside money from entering politics. He also proposes Congress pass a 100 per cent tax on campaign funds until the amendment passes. 




Ratigan is currently spearheading a campaign called Get Money Out. The website asks citizens to sign an online petition to show their support in removing all outside money in politics. The map below shows the locations of the 250,000+ Americans who have signed the online petition as of February 1.




Outside spending on political ads in the current Republican primary is up 1,600 per cent compared to 2008, largely due to the Super PACs which funded almost half of the ads. This animated ad is sponsored by the pro-Gingrich Super PAC Winning Our Future, which tries to equate Mitt Romney's policies with Barack Obama's.





Winning Our Future also produced a short documentary entitled "Blood Money," which has a considerably sinister tone. The documentary highlights the connection between Bain Capital, a company co-founded by Mitt Romney, and Damon Corporation, a company found guilty of Medicare fraud.

Pro-Romney Super PAC Restore Our Future has produced its own set of negative campaign ads. This particular ad is not by a Super PAC but directly from Mitt Romney's camp, highlighting Gingrich's monetary gain from the home foreclosure crisis in Florida. 





The Sunlight Foundation, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes greater government transparency, created a scathing video condemning the Citizens United ruling and what the organization believes will result in a marred 2012 election as a result.





A protester at Occupy Philadelphia voices his thoughts on why money should not intermingle with politics and calls for "a separation of business and state."





A survey by the Princeton Survey Research Associates International reveals only half of Americans are aware of the Citizens United ruling that allows for unlimited independent expenditures to Super PACs. The majority of those who are aware of the ruling see it as a negative influence.




The majority of those polled, across all political party affiliations, agree that the Citizens United ruling allowing for Super PACs have a negative effect in the political campaigning process.








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