Dear John,
Elon Musk recently bragged that he “won” the 2024 election, not by earning votes, but by flooding the swing states with money – including, of course, his million-dollar giveaways (aka bribes) to supposedly random Trump voters:
“Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate.”
Let’s take a moment to let that sink in. One billionaire claims credit for tipping the balance of national power. And even after Musk publicly sparred with Trump, GOP leaders are crawling back to get in his good graces – because they want his money for 2026.
This isn’t democracy. It’s the richest of all the rich guys buying an election. And it’s exactly what the Supreme Court’s disastrous 2010 Citizens United ruling unleashed: a political system where wealth buys power and billionaires flood elections with unlimited, undisclosed money.
Send Congress a direct message to pass a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and get dark money out of our elections!
Musk’s political influence is so enormous that even some Democrats are trying to win him over – despite his flirtations with “master race” eugenics and dangerous rhetoric. That’s how extreme inequality works: it shields the rich from accountability and multiplies their power, while silencing millions of ordinary Americans.
Enough!
When one billionaire can outspend entire communities, and corporate PACs literally write the legislation meant to regulate them – while voters are left without a say – we simply do not live in a functioning democracy.
With this extreme concentration of political influence, wealth inequality and political inequality have become inseparable – best buddies capable of withstanding any petty squabbles. It’s time to overturn Citizens United, even if it takes a constitutional amendment.
Tell Congress to reverse Citizens United and limit the influence of Musk and his fellow billionaires to preserve our democracy.
Thank you for helping to rebalance the scales of democracy in America.
Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action
