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In view of the Bank of America building in Baltimore, MD, a man participates in "Occupy Baltimore" October 7, 2011 supporting the Wall Street protestors who are against corporate greed, the continued divide between rich and poor to name a few. Photo Ken Cedeno Baltimore, MD (Photo by Ken Cedeno/Corbis via Getty Images)
Why Greedy Corporations Love the Filibuster
It's not like the money trail is camouflaged, but too many continue to ignore the very clear and destructive role that major companies play in undermining democracy in the United States.
Jan 28, 2022
"Follow the money" is a fundamental principle for political reporters. It means competent journalists look at who funds politicians, provides that information in relevant stories, and examines how politicians' votes and statements compared to the agenda of their funders. On that criterion, nearly every news report on the recent filibuster of Senate voting rights legislation failed.
It's not like the trail is camouflaged. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, perhaps the most powerful lobbying group in America, promoted it's agenda publicly, decrying the the threat of a responsive democracy and touting the filibuster to prevent it. The Chamber lavished praise and cash upon Krysten Sinema and Joe Manchin, the two Democratic Senators who saved corporate America from the threat of majority rule. Without the filibuster, proposals broadly popular with the public, but anathema to many corporations--like a $15 minimum hourly wage, bans on corporate union-busting, and stronger pollution limits -- could likely become law.
Finally, the Chamber warned all Senators that a vote to enable democracy will be punished on its scorecard, which tells who's been naughty or nice in the eyes of multinational corporations.
When Manchin and Sinema professed their deep concern for bipartisanship or tradition to justify blocking voting rights protections, some reporters showed appropriate skepticism, since both Senators voted to suspend the filibuster just weeks earlier to raise the national debt ceiling. Yet reports on the filibuster vote from the largest media outlets neglected corporate influence entirely. The only reporting I found connecting Manchin and Sinema's filibuster support to funding by fossil fuel interests, restaurant chains, and many other corporations was The Daily Poster, a reader-supported investigative journalism startup.
To be clear, the Constitution's wealthy authors intended the Senate to protect powerful people from rapid populist pressure that could more easily influence the House of Representatives. Yet they couldn't anticipate the later invention of filibusters turning their speed bump into a full roadblock. Nor could the founders foresee population growth that now gives Californians about 1/68th as much Senate representation as residents of Wyoming, a state created a century after the Constitution.
Meanwhile, the people of Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, who outnumber the residents of several states, have no voting representation in Congress whatsoever. The power imbalances are magnified further by the whiteness and patriarchy prevalent in over-represented Plains and Northern Rockies states.
While many corporations offer feel-good commercials promoting multiculturalism and equality, their political arms (like the Chamber) and political investments perpetuate the dominance of wealth over our elections and the public interest. Those of us who value democracy must remember the quest for voting rights and equality is inseparable from the imperative to revoke the power of corporations and money over our elections and government.
Democracy advocates lost a major battle this month when 52 Senators effectively voted to enable rampant voter suppression and election manipulation, but the struggle helped build a foundation for future victory. This includes 230+ civic organizations uniting as Declaration for American Democracy, and coordinating more effectively than any previous effort.
Many of us learned a sterilized history in which the United States progressed steadily from a white, wealthy, male electorate toward inclusive democracy. But in the entire history of our nation, just 11 Black people and 58 women have served as Senators. Hard-fought citizen victories have taken decades and are interspersed with setbacks--like today--at the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Long-term progress has come through rallying with new energy after each defeat to push further toward equality. May we be resolute in the struggle to create a truly democratic republic.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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Jeff Milchen
Jeff Milchen is the founder and a board member of Reclaim Democracy!, which works to strengthen grassroots democracy and revoke runaway corporate power. He also co-founded the American Independent Business Alliance and has helped launch dozens of community-based alliances that work to help local entrepreneurs thrive and de-corporatize their local economies.
"Follow the money" is a fundamental principle for political reporters. It means competent journalists look at who funds politicians, provides that information in relevant stories, and examines how politicians' votes and statements compared to the agenda of their funders. On that criterion, nearly every news report on the recent filibuster of Senate voting rights legislation failed.
It's not like the trail is camouflaged. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, perhaps the most powerful lobbying group in America, promoted it's agenda publicly, decrying the the threat of a responsive democracy and touting the filibuster to prevent it. The Chamber lavished praise and cash upon Krysten Sinema and Joe Manchin, the two Democratic Senators who saved corporate America from the threat of majority rule. Without the filibuster, proposals broadly popular with the public, but anathema to many corporations--like a $15 minimum hourly wage, bans on corporate union-busting, and stronger pollution limits -- could likely become law.
Finally, the Chamber warned all Senators that a vote to enable democracy will be punished on its scorecard, which tells who's been naughty or nice in the eyes of multinational corporations.
When Manchin and Sinema professed their deep concern for bipartisanship or tradition to justify blocking voting rights protections, some reporters showed appropriate skepticism, since both Senators voted to suspend the filibuster just weeks earlier to raise the national debt ceiling. Yet reports on the filibuster vote from the largest media outlets neglected corporate influence entirely. The only reporting I found connecting Manchin and Sinema's filibuster support to funding by fossil fuel interests, restaurant chains, and many other corporations was The Daily Poster, a reader-supported investigative journalism startup.
To be clear, the Constitution's wealthy authors intended the Senate to protect powerful people from rapid populist pressure that could more easily influence the House of Representatives. Yet they couldn't anticipate the later invention of filibusters turning their speed bump into a full roadblock. Nor could the founders foresee population growth that now gives Californians about 1/68th as much Senate representation as residents of Wyoming, a state created a century after the Constitution.
Meanwhile, the people of Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, who outnumber the residents of several states, have no voting representation in Congress whatsoever. The power imbalances are magnified further by the whiteness and patriarchy prevalent in over-represented Plains and Northern Rockies states.
While many corporations offer feel-good commercials promoting multiculturalism and equality, their political arms (like the Chamber) and political investments perpetuate the dominance of wealth over our elections and the public interest. Those of us who value democracy must remember the quest for voting rights and equality is inseparable from the imperative to revoke the power of corporations and money over our elections and government.
Democracy advocates lost a major battle this month when 52 Senators effectively voted to enable rampant voter suppression and election manipulation, but the struggle helped build a foundation for future victory. This includes 230+ civic organizations uniting as Declaration for American Democracy, and coordinating more effectively than any previous effort.
Many of us learned a sterilized history in which the United States progressed steadily from a white, wealthy, male electorate toward inclusive democracy. But in the entire history of our nation, just 11 Black people and 58 women have served as Senators. Hard-fought citizen victories have taken decades and are interspersed with setbacks--like today--at the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Long-term progress has come through rallying with new energy after each defeat to push further toward equality. May we be resolute in the struggle to create a truly democratic republic.
Jeff Milchen
Jeff Milchen is the founder and a board member of Reclaim Democracy!, which works to strengthen grassroots democracy and revoke runaway corporate power. He also co-founded the American Independent Business Alliance and has helped launch dozens of community-based alliances that work to help local entrepreneurs thrive and de-corporatize their local economies.
"Follow the money" is a fundamental principle for political reporters. It means competent journalists look at who funds politicians, provides that information in relevant stories, and examines how politicians' votes and statements compared to the agenda of their funders. On that criterion, nearly every news report on the recent filibuster of Senate voting rights legislation failed.
It's not like the trail is camouflaged. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, perhaps the most powerful lobbying group in America, promoted it's agenda publicly, decrying the the threat of a responsive democracy and touting the filibuster to prevent it. The Chamber lavished praise and cash upon Krysten Sinema and Joe Manchin, the two Democratic Senators who saved corporate America from the threat of majority rule. Without the filibuster, proposals broadly popular with the public, but anathema to many corporations--like a $15 minimum hourly wage, bans on corporate union-busting, and stronger pollution limits -- could likely become law.
Finally, the Chamber warned all Senators that a vote to enable democracy will be punished on its scorecard, which tells who's been naughty or nice in the eyes of multinational corporations.
When Manchin and Sinema professed their deep concern for bipartisanship or tradition to justify blocking voting rights protections, some reporters showed appropriate skepticism, since both Senators voted to suspend the filibuster just weeks earlier to raise the national debt ceiling. Yet reports on the filibuster vote from the largest media outlets neglected corporate influence entirely. The only reporting I found connecting Manchin and Sinema's filibuster support to funding by fossil fuel interests, restaurant chains, and many other corporations was The Daily Poster, a reader-supported investigative journalism startup.
To be clear, the Constitution's wealthy authors intended the Senate to protect powerful people from rapid populist pressure that could more easily influence the House of Representatives. Yet they couldn't anticipate the later invention of filibusters turning their speed bump into a full roadblock. Nor could the founders foresee population growth that now gives Californians about 1/68th as much Senate representation as residents of Wyoming, a state created a century after the Constitution.
Meanwhile, the people of Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, who outnumber the residents of several states, have no voting representation in Congress whatsoever. The power imbalances are magnified further by the whiteness and patriarchy prevalent in over-represented Plains and Northern Rockies states.
While many corporations offer feel-good commercials promoting multiculturalism and equality, their political arms (like the Chamber) and political investments perpetuate the dominance of wealth over our elections and the public interest. Those of us who value democracy must remember the quest for voting rights and equality is inseparable from the imperative to revoke the power of corporations and money over our elections and government.
Democracy advocates lost a major battle this month when 52 Senators effectively voted to enable rampant voter suppression and election manipulation, but the struggle helped build a foundation for future victory. This includes 230+ civic organizations uniting as Declaration for American Democracy, and coordinating more effectively than any previous effort.
Many of us learned a sterilized history in which the United States progressed steadily from a white, wealthy, male electorate toward inclusive democracy. But in the entire history of our nation, just 11 Black people and 58 women have served as Senators. Hard-fought citizen victories have taken decades and are interspersed with setbacks--like today--at the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Long-term progress has come through rallying with new energy after each defeat to push further toward equality. May we be resolute in the struggle to create a truly democratic republic.
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