PAC To Get Money Out of Politics Loses Bidding War At The Polls

Posted by | August 12, 2014 06:44 | Filed under: Contributors Eric Trommater Opinion Politics Top Stories

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With primary season at an end, the picture of what election cycles will come to look like in a post-Citizens United world is coming into focus, and it isn’t pretty. The Mayday PAC, a superPAC formed to fight the influence of superPACs, entered this year’s elections with a lot of sound and fury three months ago. Since then they have raised nearly $8 million and received a collective meh from candidates on both sides of the political aisle. In fact, most of the primary candidates the group targeted for their reliance on big money PAC contributions, such as David Purdue and Michelle Nunn in Georgia’s Senate race, easily won their nominations. Their attempts to garner pledges to reform the system once elected fared little better. Time reports:

Just 35 of the roughly 2,500 candidates running for House and Senate seats in 2014 (many of the 2,500 are not serious contenders) made the Mayday PAC pledge to support at least one proposal to substantially change the way campaigns are financed in the United States.

The effort is the bipartisan brain child of Harvard Law School professor Lawrence Lessig and Republican strategist Mark McKinnon. It has a four stage plan according to its website.

1. In 2014, we will pilot the idea of a superPAC intervening in elections to support candidates who favor reform. The objective of this pilot intervention will be to both (a) convince Congress of the salience of this issue to voters, and (b) determine how best to intervene to move voters on the basis of this issue.
2. Based on what we learn in 2014, in 2016 we will engage in as many races as we need to win a majority in Congress who have either cosponsored or committed to cosponsor fundamental reform legislation.
3. In 2017, we will then press to get Congress to pass, and the President to sign, legislation that fundamentally reforms the way elections are funded.
4. After a Congress has been elected under this new system, we will push for whatever constitutional reform is necessary to secure the gains from this reform.

Hopefully, this is just the first stage. Thus far the idea of using big money to get money out of politics isn’t gaining traction. In a bidding war with the older and better financed 501(c)’s, $8 million seems to be just a drop in the bucket on a national level. Candidates from both parties are unable to break their addiction to big donations from unnamed contributors, despite attempt after attempt at an intervention. Rock bottom seems miles away.

Watch for a look at Mayday’s future plans:

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Copyright 2014 Liberaland
By: Eric Trommater

A liberal living in Northern Virginia. Father of Two great kids. Former sports writer and movie critic.

14 responses to PAC To Get Money Out of Politics Loses Bidding War At The Polls

  1. Anomaly 100 August 12th, 2014 at 08:11

    I’m so down with this.

  2. Anomaly 100 August 12th, 2014 at 08:11

    I’m so down with this.

  3. Jeff Allen August 12th, 2014 at 09:16

    I think the concept is genius in it’s “fighting fire with fire” approach. I am donating. I hope in it’s success, that it can also lead to breaking the two party stranglehold that led to this shift of power away from the people. My only issue with it’s marketing is that it continues to uphold the misconception that we are a Democracy(capital D). We are a Republic (capital R) that exercises democratic principles to maintain a representative form of government. It may be semantics and it has zero to do with our two parties, but it is an important distinction that our founding fathers put a great deal of effort into defining in our foundations.

  4. Jeff Allen August 12th, 2014 at 09:16

    I think the concept is genius in it’s “fighting fire with fire” approach. I am donating. I hope in it’s success, that it can also lead to breaking the two party stranglehold that led to this shift of power away from the people. My only issue with it’s marketing is that it continues to uphold the misconception that we are a Democracy(capital D). We are a Republic (capital R) that exercises democratic principles to maintain a representative form of government. It may be semantics and it has zero to do with our two parties, but it is an important distinction that our founding fathers put a great deal of effort into defining in our foundations.

  5. tiredoftea August 12th, 2014 at 13:43

    Until we, the voters, change who runs for office, there is no chance of this type of effort being successful. Campaign funding is the symptom, not the disease. I think the solution is for voters to demand that politicians open their calendars, bank account, and voting records to our scrutiny in order to get our vote.

    Some of these records are available now. And, there have been a few technology developments to make them easier. But, the key item, in my opinion, is going further by knowing who the politicians meet with, what they discussed, who that person represents and tie any contributions, financing, or in kind, to the voting record of the politician.

    It starts with demanding the politician sign a “Sunshine Pledge” to do the above. The ones who do, vote for them on their merits and record. The ones who refuse, don’t vote for them. Only when enough politicians who have signed the pledge get into office will meaningful campaign reform be proposed and passed.

    This can be done without legislation, without money, without more organization than it takes to ask a campaigning politician to sign the pledge. We don’t need to cajole politicians to walk away from the trough, it’s not in their nature. We can change the makeup of our legislators by changing who gets there to represent us.

  6. tiredoftea August 12th, 2014 at 13:43

    Until we, the voters, change who runs for office, there is no chance of this type of effort being successful. Campaign funding is the symptom, not the disease. I think the solution is for voters to demand that politicians open their calendars, bank account, and voting records to our scrutiny in order to get our vote.

    Some of these records are available now. And, there have been a few technology developments to make them easier. But, the key item, in my opinion, is going further by knowing who the politicians meet with, what they discussed, who that person represents and tie any contributions, financing, or in kind, to the voting record of the politician.

    It starts with demanding the politician sign a “Sunshine Pledge” to do the above. The ones who do, vote for them on their merits and record. The ones who refuse, don’t vote for them. Only when enough politicians who have signed the pledge get into office will meaningful campaign reform be proposed and passed.

    This can be done without legislation, without money, without more organization than it takes to ask a campaigning politician to sign the pledge. We don’t need to cajole politicians to walk away from the trough, it’s not in their nature. We can change the makeup of our legislators by changing who gets there to represent us.

  7. TKList August 13th, 2014 at 22:31

    To remove money from politics you have to get rid of what attracts money to politics.

    Which is the Tax Code and excessive regulation.

    The voter wants regulation and taxes on business and the rich, which causes business and the rich to spend money on politics to influence taxes and regulations. Blame the voter.

    Excessive regulations and a convoluted Tax Code are the seeds of an oligarchy; they are the sperm and egg.

    If you count on the government to do it or over regulate it, it will be hijacked by special interest groups (Unions, Financial Industry, Oil Industry, Farmers, Multi-National Corporations, Religious Groups, Environmentalists, AARP, etc.), so it invites more corruption than solutions. People are given a false sense of security. A very good reason to keep government to a minimum and one of the reasons the Constitution is set up to constrain it. This regulatory capture also increases the barriers to competition, further hurting citizens/consumers.

    Blame the voter for the existence of lobbyists.

    First step to a solution:

    Support politicians that promise to get rid of laws and regulations that are obsolete or ineffective, instead of the ones that promise to enact more laws and regulations.

    Second and third steps:

    Repeal the 16th Amendment, abolish the IRS and the Tax Code, and enact the Fair Tax. Less money will go into politics because there will be no Tax Code to manipulate. There will be much less for the special interest groups to hijack.

    Reduce regulations to the minimum necessary. Less money will go into politics because there will be less to manipulate. There will be less for the special interest groups to hijack.

    Fourth step:

    Pass and ratify an Amendment to the Constitution to require a 60% supermajority in the House to pass any new legislation and a simple majority to repeal any legislation.

    Choose limited federal government. Stop making millionaires out of our politicians and lobbyists. Stop increasing the power of connected corporations.

  8. TKList August 13th, 2014 at 22:31

    To remove money from politics you have to get rid of what attracts money to politics.

    Which is the Tax Code and excessive regulation.

    The voter wants regulation and taxes on business and the rich, which causes business and the rich to spend money on politics to influence taxes and regulations. Blame the voter.

    Excessive regulations and a convoluted Tax Code are the seeds of an oligarchy; they are the sperm and egg.

    If you count on the government to do it or over regulate it, it will be hijacked by special interest groups (Unions, Financial Industry, Oil Industry, Farmers, Multi-National Corporations, Religious Groups, Environmentalists, AARP, etc.), so it invites more corruption than solutions. People are given a false sense of security. A very good reason to keep government to a minimum and one of the reasons the Constitution is set up to constrain it. This regulatory capture also increases the barriers to competition, further hurting citizens/consumers.

    Blame the voter for the existence of lobbyists.

    First step to a solution:

    Support politicians that promise to get rid of laws and regulations that are obsolete or ineffective, instead of the ones that promise to enact more laws and regulations.

    Second and third steps:

    Repeal the 16th Amendment, abolish the IRS and the Tax Code, and enact the Fair Tax. Less money will go into politics because there will be no Tax Code to manipulate. There will be much less for the special interest groups to hijack.

    Reduce regulations to the minimum necessary. Less money will go into politics because there will be less to manipulate. There will be less for the special interest groups to hijack.

    Fourth step:

    Pass and ratify an Amendment to the Constitution to require a 60% supermajority in the House to pass any new legislation and a simple majority to repeal any legislation.

    Choose limited federal government. Stop making millionaires out of our politicians and lobbyists. Stop increasing the power of connected corporations.

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