Since the Supreme Court decided Citizens United and officially transformed corporate election spending into protected “speech,” our elections have been flooded with billions of dollars meant to shape the outcomes. Today, most Americans agree that billionaires, corporations, and special interests have far too much influence in our country’s politics. But what we don’t always agree on is whether there’s anything that can actually be done about it.
Jeff Clements, CEO of American Promise, believes there’s a solution: a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United. I spoke with Jeff to better understand why money has become so dominant in our politics, and why reform efforts keep running into roadblocks.
We discussed:
how the Supreme Court has shaped the modern campaign finance system;
why foreign governments can spend millions to influence state ballot initiatives but can’t legally give to candidates;
how the huge cost of campaigns may be producing worse candidates;
the surprising reason a constitutional amendment might be more achievable than you think;
what Hawaii is trying as a test case for limiting corporate political spending;
why fixing money in politics might only require convincing 360 people;
… and more.
Press play to listen.
