How to Protect Democracy from Dark Money and Corrupt Politicians
September 16, 2024
Corporations bribe politicians and undermine democracy, according to this vigorous polemic. Stetson University law professor Torres-Spelliscy (Corporate Citizen) surveys historical misdeeds of American corporations, including the Crédit Mobilier railroad embezzlement scandal of the 1860s, as well as modern skullduggery enabled by the dark money unleashed after the Supreme Court’s Citizen’s United decision. Her main focus is on outsize corporate donations to the Republican Party, which over the past decade have outpaced corporate giving to the Democrats by more than $200 million, even as the Republicans have drifted further into antidemocratic thinking. She highlights ongoing corporate donations to Donald Trump despite his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results; to Republican politicians who support him; and to state Republicans who are tightening voting laws. Torres-Spelliscy’s takedown is biting—she dubs Trump “a cotton-candy-haired Mussolini”—and concludes with a sensible proposal for public funding of election campaigns. While her attempts to assign blame for America’s slide into authoritarianism sometimes stretch thin—she accuses Walmart, CVS, and Home Depot of playing a small part in the January 6 riot, since, as donors to the Republican Attorneys General Association, they funded the organization’s robocalls inviting people to “march to the Capitol... to stop the steal”—this nonetheless paints a dire picture of the campaign finance system. It’s a persuasive wake-up call.