A disastrous Supreme Court case lets the moneyed elite dictate political discourse. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

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The Guardian reported this week on the efforts of tech billionaire Peter Thiel to influence U.S. politics

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. It’s an important piece about more than just this election cycle. Thiel’s power shows what Citizens United

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has done to our democracy.

With three weeks to go until Election Day, outside groups have already spent some $1.3 billion to influence the outcome of the midterms. Thiel’s nearly $30 million in donations account for only a fraction of that nearly unbelievable total, but he represents a very specific kind of influencer. As my colleague Chisun Lee told the Guardian, “Since Citizens United, just 12 mega-donors, eight of them billionaires, have paid one dollar out of every 13 spent in federal elections.”

Billionaires are sponsoring candidates like prized racehorses. The situation is worrying, — exceedingly worrying — but not unprecedented. During the Gilded Age, moneyed corporate interests held incredible sway over our government. Senators who represented the copper-rich state of Montana, for example, were referred to as “representing copper” rather than representing their constituents or the state itself. Copper magnate William A. Clark bought himself a seat in the Senate by plying the state’s legislators — who, at the time, elected U.S. senators — with massive financial gifts. Once Clark’s corrupt practices were revealed, his 1889 opponent (also, revealingly, a copper magnate) worked to have him removed from Congress. Clark came back in 1901, defeating — you guessed it — another wealthy mine owner to win a Senate seat.

The citizens of Montana finally took their government back in 1912, enacting a law that barred corporations from intervening financially in elections. That law stood for a century, until the Supreme Court struck it down as inconsistent with Citizens United, decided in 2010.

Shortly after the Citizens United ruling, President Obama asked Americans to “imagine the power this will give special interests over politicians.”

We don’t have to imagine any more — we’re living it. Thiel is a particularly alarming example. Through massive donations to super PACs, which Citizens United brought to the fore, he’s using his riches to force his fringe views into mainstream political discourse. He’s supporting candidates who spread the false claim that fraud decided the 2020 election. And his money doesn’t just force a certain type of candidate into the public eye — it also silences Thiel’s ideological opponents. By working to defeat the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump, for example, Thiel has deterred others from speaking out against the former president. Few politicians can afford to ignore Thiel and the threat his money holds.

We don’t have to continue down this road. Many groups, including the Brennan Center, have proposed legislation to limit billionaires’ influence over our elections without running afoul of Citizens United. We don’t need a billionaire’s approval. Like the people of Montana did in 1912, we can exercise the power we have as citizens and take back our government.

A Setback in the Fight Against For-Profit Immigrant Detention

Advocates have long voiced concerns about the welfare of undocumented immigrants held in detention facilities run by private firms. California tried to ban the use of private operators in 2019, but a federal appeals court recently blocked the law in a decision that will have a far-reaching impact. “The federal government and private contractors will surely look to the Ninth Circuit case as precedent to challenge other states, such as Illinois, that attempt to block private immigration detention centers in their jurisdictions,” Lauren-Brooke Eisen writes. Read more

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Uncovering U.S. Combat in the Shadows

The Pentagon has spent almost 20 years using an obscure counterterrorism authority to create and command proxy forces to conduct secret military operations across Africa and Asia. The little information available on these highly classified programs suggests that the Defense Department is overstepping its authority to use force in multiple countries. “Today, the American public and much of Congress are unaware of the full scope of U.S. hostilities to counter terrorism abroad,” Katherine Yon Ebright writes. “This will continue to be the case unless and until Congress . . . enacts new legislation to rein in presidential war-making.” READ MORE

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Progress for Safeguarding Government Science

The White House recently directed federal agencies to ensure free and immediate access to federally funded research. The pandemic illustrated the need for public trust in government science, and this is a significant step toward that goal. It will make the research and data that inform policy available to everyone and protect this information from politically motivated censorship — but there is more to do. “While such executive action is critical, Congress should codify these standards to ensure that they continue from one presidential administration to the next,” Martha Kinsella writes. Read more

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New Hurdles Await Voters This Fall

The midterms will be the first major election since voter fraud conspiracies about the 2020 race sparked a legislative assault on voting rights by state lawmakers. Since January 2021, at least 21 states have enacted 42 laws that make it harder to vote, 33 of which will be in effect this fall. Our new resource details how these restrictive provisions will impact voters, from barriers to voting by mail to higher risks of faulty voter purges. READ MORE

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News

Chisun Lee on the benefits of New York State’s new campaign finance system // GOTHAM GAZETTE

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Lauren Miller on false voter fraud claims // WISCONSIN WATCH

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Eric Ruben on the legal challenge to New York’s new gun restrictions // NY1

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Wendy Weiser on partisan poll watcher recruitment efforts // USA TODAY

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