Campaign Finance Reform

BRIEF
In the wake of the Citizens United ruling, money has flooded our political system like never before. A handful of wealthy individuals can now influence policy as much or more than millions of ordinary Americans. This has led to both increasing distance between policymakers and citizens as well as disenchantment with politics among more and more people. It has also led to policies that increase the record wealth and income inequality in our country, which is as extreme as it has ever been in our history.

Money has overrun our politics, and that needs to change. Corporations and the wealthy have enough advantages without being able to influence every election by putting up millions of dollars and bending the ear of every candidate and officeholder. We will return to the essence of democracy – where each person’s vote is heard and treated equally. I will gladly overturn Citizens United and return the American government to its people. This would also improve policymaking as leaders can turn toward solutions instead of constantly trying to raise money for their next campaign. Let’s get big money out of politics once and for all—we’ll all be much better off for it. I don’t love calling rich people either, nor does any sane person.

PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED

 * Money has become the dominant force in our elections as wealthy individuals and corporations increasingly demand the attention of candidates and policymakers
 * People don’t believe that their voices matter, often because they don’t have meaningful access
 * Candidates and officeholders spend the majority of their time fundraising rather than governing or finding solutions

Goals

 * Improve candidate responsiveness to the concerns of ordinary Americans
 * Reduce corporate influence and outsize influence of the wealthy
 * Make it so that more people can run for office without having ready access to vast financial resources

Guiding Principles

 * Fairness
 * Democracy
 * Effective government

As President, I will…

 * Support a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, which was a terrible decision that has made our politics even more polarized.
 * Support a public financing system of elections to reduce the influence of money in our democracy and open up the field beyond the very wealthy.
 * Eliminate super PACs and vessels for corporate intervention in campaigns.
 * Enforce our current campaign finance laws to curb corruption.