URGENT: Lobbyists go all-out to kill election reform
End Trump's Corruption Unsubscribe
7:24 PM (28 minutes ago)
to me
Dear Peter,
Yesterday was the first hearing on the Democrats' ethics and election-reform bill, H.R. 1, and Mitch McConnell is rallying every corporate lobbyist in D.C. to help kill it.
Last week, a group of top corporate lobbyists huddled with McConnell and other corporate politicians to map out their strategy to kill H.R. 1 so our broken elections system in place.1
They know that ending corruption in Washington is one of voters’ top priorities, so their plan is to smear the bill as a partisan power grab. They want to make these wildly popular proposals seem controversial before the bill can gain momentum and risk ending the control they have over Washington, D.C.
Demand Progress has launched a counteroffensive to defend H.R.1 and send a loud and clear message to politicians: Pass this bill, or pay the political price. Will you donate to help pass H.R.1 and end corruption in Congress?
One of the central missions of H.R.1 is to crack down on money in politics and correct some of the wrongs of Citizens United. The legislative package would force dark money donors to go public, mandate that presidents and vice presidents release their tax returns, and stop the flow of foreign money into our elections.2
Right now, millionaires and billionaires can donate nearly unlimited funds to SuperPACs — and in the 2018 election, they accounted for nearly $400 million dollars in SuperPAC donations.3 But under H.R.1, their names would be made public.
H.R.1 would also make voting much more accessible than it is now, making Election Day a federal holiday, mandating online registration, and opening up early voting dates, putting democracy back in the hands of voters instead of corporate lobbyists.
Now high-powered lobbyists in thousand-dollar suits are meeting in K Street offices to develop an even bigger smear campaign. The Conservative Action Project is calling H.R.1 the 'ultimate fantasy of the left.' FreedomWorks, a conservative libertarian group has been gathering signatures from its members on a letter calling the bill 'dangerous' and that it aims for 'one-party rule.'4
The only reason K Street lobbyists are devoting this much time to defeating H.R.1 is that it will cut their legs out from under them and give power to the voters. But if we're going to get H.R.1 through committee and onto the floor for a vote, we’re going to have to make sure voters know how H.R.1 can save our democracy. And to make sure H.R.1 comes to a vote, we’re going to call out every politician who stands in opposition.
Will you donate to help pass H.R.1, the ethics and election-reform package we need to finally clean up Washington?
Thanks for standing with us.
Robert Cruickshank,
Demand Progress
DONATE
Sources:
1. Vox, 'Lobbyists are already mounting an opposition strategy to Democrats’ anti-corruption bill,' January 29, 2019
2. Ibid.
3. OpenSecrets.org, 'Top Individual Contributors to Super PACs,' accessed February 6, 2019
4. Vox, 'Lobbyists are already mounting an opposition strategy to Democrats’ anti-corruption bill,' January 29, 2019
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