Here’s the situation:
In 2010, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling — Citizens United v. Federal Election Committee. In their ruling, independent political contributions by corporations are protected under the First Amendment without government restriction. (Yes, you read that right).
Why does this matter?
Citizens United v. FEC has allowed corporations to spend obscene amounts of money, unchecked, to further their own special interests in Washington DC. Meaning, the more money you have to contribute to a campaign, the more likely you are to be able to buy an election.
This is ridiculous! What can I do to help?
When Summer ran for Congress accepting only grassroots donations we showed the world that the power of the people is stronger than the people in power. But we have to fight to continue to build that power if we want to see meaningful change and overturn legislation like Citizens United.
We need to get dark money out of politics if we want a fair, reflective democracy where everyone can participate in the political process, not just wealthy white men. Summer needs your help to continue to be able to fight corporate special interests when she is up for re-election in 2024, and that means gathering resources now. Can you chip in even $5 today to help us fight to center the people of PA in Congress, and not corporations?
As long as we have limitless spending in politics from dark money and corporate PACs that can always come in and outspend us, we will struggle to elect more Black women and people from working-class communities to positions of power.
When Summer ran for Congress, super PACs spent upwards of $10 million in the general election alone to attack Summer and prop up her GOP opponent. Namely, AIPAC who has endorsed over 100 election-denying, insurrectionist-linked Republicans in the past.
We're seeing historic amounts of money coming into elections right now — it costs millions and millions of dollars to run federal races. This pushes Black women, marginalized people, and working-class people out of politics all together. If we want a more reflective democracy then we need to break down these systemic barriers.
Summer is determined to do politics the right way — relying on grassroots donations and a people-powered movement. We know that dark money rears its ugly head every election cycle, and the corporate machine never rests. But we have a secret weapon: YOU.
— Team Summer
