Gains for voting rights – undercut by explosion of big money for party bosses, enabling tighter stranglehold over candidates and elections
HR1 provides urgently needed reforms to strengthen voting rights. But these rights come at a devastating cost. In its relatively unscrutinized campaign finance provisions, HR1 also tightens the stranglehold of oligarchy on our elections, opening the flood gates to additional torrents of big money.
Yes HR1 improves the right to vote – but the right to vote for what exactly? Candidates preselected by billionaires, bankers and big party bosses.
Party bosses are already corrupted by their ties to big money special interests. The huge influx of money to party national committees that HR 1 creates will make this even worse.
Everyone deserves the right to vote – especially those who have been and are being disenfranchised. We also deserve the right to vote for candidates free from control by the economic and political elite who’ve been calling the shots for decades.
The invaluable voting rights measures in HR1 should be passed without the bogus campaign finance reform package, which should be stripped entirely from the bill.
To address campaign finance reform, …… (TO BE CONTINUED…)
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On a related note, here’s another article, that clarifies how the party bosses – who benefit from HR 1’s $300million party donation limit – are already corrupted by their dependence on big money.
Parties Charge A Lot for Committee and Leadership Roles. Corporations Benefit. Donald Shaw, Sludge 2021.03.20 truthout https://truthout.org/articles/parties-charge-a-lot-for-committee-and-leadership-roles-corporations-benefit/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=2ab4ca2b-658e-46ab-b262-422934b3f28f
This is a link in the introductory HR1 blurb. Maybe the article itself belongs with a related page on “How Big Money Corrupts Our Elections”. This would address the impact of big money in
- corrupting our political process (as in the article above)
- degrading our health care, energy, banking, big tech etc. policies
HR 1’S CAMPAIGN FINANCE PROGRAM: A REFORM THAT DOESN’T REFORM Hawkins 2021.02.23 https://howiehawkins.us/hr-1s-campaign-finance-program-a-reform-that-doesnt-reform/
Stop the HR1 Poison Pills That Suppress Voter Choice https://www.gp.org/hr1
HR 1 Exacts Partisan Political Advantage in Exchange for Desperately Needed Voting Rights By Michael Feinstein. Independent Voter Network. March 21, 2021 https://ivn.us/posts/hr-1-exacts-partisan-political-advantage-in-exchange-for-desperately-needed-voting-rights