Dear John,
We can’t overturn Citizens United before the next election, but we can stop billionaire super PACs from buying our Democratic primaries.
In a healthy democracy, your vote should count as much as anyone else’s. But thanks to super PACs, a handful of billionaires are drowning out the voices of millions. This isn’t “one person, one vote.” It’s “one billionaire, $100 million, and total control.”
This is the extreme inequality corrupting our political system: a country where working people struggle to get by, while billionaires write massive checks to rig the game in their favor. Just 100 billionaire families spent $2.6 billion in the 2024 election cycle — overwhelming local races, crushing grassroots candidates, and distorting democracy itself.
If we want candidates who answer to voters — not just the richest donors — we need to draw the line. State Democratic Parties have the power to act. They control their own primaries, and they can ban super PAC money from distorting Democratic races. It’s a bold, powerful step toward reclaiming our elections and restoring public trust.
Tell all 50 state Democratic Parties to rein in super PAC influence by introducing and passing resolutions prohibiting super PAC Dark Money in Democratic primaries.
And this is not an abstraction. The crypto-backed “Fairshake” Super PAC — funded by tech billionaires and corporate giants — has already spent hundreds of millions to interfere in Democratic primaries, helping to take down progressives like Katie Porter, Jamaal Bowman, and Cori Bush.
Regardless of the recent Trump-Musk meltdown, Elon Musk's enormous power over the firing of thousands and the destruction of entire agencies under DOGE was not due primarily to his wealth, his celebrity, or his ownership of X. It was the direct consequence of his unprecedented $277 million in super PAC contributions last year, which (at least temporarily) bought him a place in Trump’s inner circle.
Let’s be clear: corporations are not people, and money is not speech. Super PACs have created a two-tiered democracy; one where billionaires get megaphones, and the rest of us must struggle to get the word out as best we can.
It’s time for Democrats to put their money where their mouths are. If we really want to be the party of working people, we must get Dark Money out of our elections and put the power where it belongs – with the voters.
Tell all 50 state Democratic Parties: Ban super PAC money from Democratic primaries. Restore “one person, one vote.”
Thank you for fighting to protect real democracy – and take it back from those who want to buy it from us.
Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action
