Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund, holds hundred dollar bills as he speaks during the Bitcoin 2022 Conference at Miami Beach Convention Center on April 7, 2022 in Miami, Florida. (Photo: Marco Bello/Getty Images)
In America, Democracy Can Simply Be Bought by the Billionaires
Citizens United lets billionaires set the terms of debate.
The Guardian reported this week on the efforts of tech billionaire Peter Thiel to influence U.S. politics. It's an important piece about more than just this election cycle. Thiel's power shows what Citizens United has done to our democracy.
"Since Citizens United, just 12 mega-donors, eight of them billionaires, have paid one dollar out of every 13 spent in federal elections."
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.
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
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 from the outset was 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 and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just three days to go in our Spring Campaign, we're falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
The Guardian reported this week on the efforts of tech billionaire Peter Thiel to influence U.S. politics. It's an important piece about more than just this election cycle. Thiel's power shows what Citizens United has done to our democracy.
"Since Citizens United, just 12 mega-donors, eight of them billionaires, have paid one dollar out of every 13 spent in federal elections."
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.
The Guardian reported this week on the efforts of tech billionaire Peter Thiel to influence U.S. politics. It's an important piece about more than just this election cycle. Thiel's power shows what Citizens United has done to our democracy.
"Since Citizens United, just 12 mega-donors, eight of them billionaires, have paid one dollar out of every 13 spent in federal elections."
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.