Law Confirmed: First Legislation of Dem. House- End Gerrymandering, Overturn Citizens' United

[luckyshot]

"Democrats will take control of the U.S. House in January with big items topping their legislative to-do list: Remove obstacles to voting, close loopholes in government ethics law and reduce the influence of political money.

"Party leaders say the first legislative vote in the House will come on H.R. 1, a magnum opus of provisions that Democrats believe will strengthen U.S. democratic institutions and traditions.

"The bill would establish automatic voter registration and reinvigorate the Voting Rights Act, crippled by a Supreme Court decision in 2013. It would take away redistricting power from state legislatures and give it to independent commissions.

"Other provisions would overturn the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling, which declared political spending is First Amendment free speech; they would mandate more disclosure of outside money and establish a public financing match for small contributions.

"Republicans, who control the Senate, are unlikely to pass the bill and President Trump is unlikely to sign it. "Give us the gavel in the Senate in 2020 and we'll pass it in the Senate," Sarbanes [Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.), who spearheads campaign finance and government ethics efforts for the House Democratic Caucus] said. "Give us a pen in the Oval Office and we'll sign those kinds of reforms into law."
https://www.npr.org/2018/11/12/6656...will-focus-on-strengthening-democracy-at-home

Can't wait for next time I head: "BUT BOTH PARTIES ARE THE SAME THOUGH!!!"

To which I will link back to this thread with the attached note:

 

[Fawlty]

I like that they're going after legislatures redistricting and the voting items.

Citizens United "dark money" just got stomped though. Not only beaten at the ballot, but outspent tremendously. Are we sure it's really a problem?

 

[luckyshot]

Citizens United "dark money" just got stomped though. Not only beaten at the ballot, but outspent tremendously. Are we sure it's really a problem?

It's a principle, imo.

Whether or not elections can be bought, we should at least be able to know who is trying to buy them.

 

[Trotsky]

Citizens United "dark money" just got stomped though. Not only beaten at the ballot, but outspent tremendously. Are we sure it's really a problem?

What?

 

[Fawlty]

What?

What.

 

[Hit-N-Run]

The Dems better not fuck this up! It may not get passed by the Repubs & Orange Baby but they should stand for something.

Three areas that are the biggest threat to our democracy

1. Citizens United ruling
2. Gerrymandering
3. PSYOP on Social Media

Citizens United is a conservative stance
Gerrymandering is done by both sides but used far more by Republicans
The right are the kings of memes and disinformation on social media.

 

[andnowweknow]

What.

Citizens United is a problem.

 

[Limbo Pete]

What?

What.

*Wat

 

[Headkicktoleg]

*Wat

 

[all caps]

 

[Fawlty]

Citizens United is a problem.

I'm not convinced it's having adverse effects. I fully agree with Stevens that (hopefully I have this right) corporations shouldn't have a right not to be regulated in this way. That's a power Congress should have, obviously. It's also philosophically repugnant in a couple of ways imo. I'm just not convinced that it's actually causing problems.

 

[lilelvis]

 

[Quipling]

And the Dems are proposing legislation to shut that sort of thing down. What's your point?

 

[Anung Un Rama]

This democracy needs a lot of help.
Not only limiting restrictions to registration and unethical behavior that effects registered voters and our voting mechanisms, but it needs to be a national holiday.
Also, and this may sound contradictory, but demand ID and, if that seems to be a problem with pockets of populations then make it easier to get an id.

 

[Trotsky]

What.

I don't know how "Citizens United 'dark money' just got stomped." You can't beat a Supreme Court ruling at the ballot. All that has been done is that states have passed resolutions in opposition to it. But changing it without the judiciary would take two-thirds votes in both houses of Congress, which will never happen. Also, if by "outspent tremendously" you mean that above-board individual donations were greater than corporate donations, of course that is true and always has been. And they probably exceed dark money donations and independent expenditures. But that hardly means that the latter are not a problem, especially when they can be targeted at races where traditional fundraising is more difficult and can serve to obscure where politicians are deriving their war chests.

Yes, dark money is still very much a problem. The greatest recent example was Eric Greitens. Without dark money donations and expenditures, he would have been outspent by his general opponent by about 3:1. Instead they were about even.

 

[xcvbn]

Somehow the bills will be 1000+ pages long and contain concessions for corporations.

And "give us power" is a slap in the face. Earn that power by being more than just better than Trump/Republicans. Stop being corrupt by kicking the Pelosi's/Schumer's to the curb.

 

[Seano]

And the Dems are proposing legislation to shut that sort of thing down. What's your point?

And who decides what is "Gerrymandered?"

 

[Quipling]

And who decides what is "Gerrymandered?"

That's not how the proposed bill would function, so I'm not sure what to draw from your question besides that you may have misunderstood something.

 

[lilelvis]

And the Dems are proposing legislation to shut that sort of thing down. What's your point?

It's funny....

 

[Limbo Pete]

This democracy needs a lot of help.
Not only limiting restrictions to registration and unethical behavior that effects registered voters and our voting mechanisms, but it needs to be a national holiday.
Also, and this may sound contradictory, but demand ID and, if that seems to be a problem with pockets of populations then make it easier to get an id.

We need national vote-by-mail
Got in here in Oregon and the shit works soooooo much better than all those crusty old polling stations, sketchy voting booths, and giant lines to access them. There shouldn't be monstrous wait times to exercise our most fundamental freedom. And it eliminates the argument over voter IDs.