Hillary Clinton’s Proposals to Restore Integrity to American Elections

[riversedge]

For those who are interested in learning about some of Hillary's important proposals.
More at the Briefing:


Hillary Clinton’s Proposals to Restore Integrity to American Elections


Americans are understandably cynical about a political system that has been hijacked by billionaires and special interests who will spend whatever it takes to crowd out the voices of everyday Americans. And with the rise of unlimited, secret spending in our political process, it is virtually impossible for anyone to really know who or what is influencing our elected officials. On issues from climate change to equal pay and immigration reform, voters won’t believe Washington will work for them unless we take on the power and stranglehold that wealthy interests have over our political system.

Hillary Clinton has made revitalization of our democracy a key pillar of her campaign. She will fight to ensure that our democracy works for everyday Americans and leads to government of, by, and for the people, not just the wealthy and well-connected. Her proposals will curb the outsized influence of big money in American politics, bring sunshine to secret spending, and institute real reform to raise the voices of regular voters. Key proposals include:

Overturning Citizens United Decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2010, by a 5-4 margin, the Citizens United case helped unleash hundreds of millions of dollars of secret, unaccountable money into U.S. elections that is drowning out the voices of ordinary Americans and distorting our democracy. To undo the harm of Citizens United and other wrongheaded campaign finance court decisions, Clinton will:

Appoint Supreme Court justices who value the right to vote over the right of billionaires to buy elections. Clinton will appoint Supreme Court justices who understand that the Constitution protects citizens’ right to participate fully in the democratic process, and that decisions like Citizens United, which upended campaign finance law, and Shelby County, which gutted the Voting Rights Act, are not good for America.
Support a constitutional amendment. Clinton supports amending the Constitution to allow Americans to establish common sense rules to protect against the undue influence of billionaires and special interests and to restore the role of average voters in elections.

Ending Secret, Unaccountable Money in Politics Outside groups have spent more than $600 million in secret money in the three federal elections since Citizens United, yet it is difficult to know who or what is behind that spending. Clinton believes that the public has a right to know who is spending money to influence elections and the actual sources of funds for those expenditures. To increase transparency in our political system and end the era of unaccountable money in politics, Clinton will: ...............................................


https://www.hillaryclinton.com/briefing/factsheets/2015/09/08/restore-integrity-to-elections/
11 Key Reactions to Clinton’s Plan From Leading Campaign Finance Reform Advocates

Today, Hillary Clinton announced a set of proposals to restore integrity to American elections by overturning Citizens United, ending secret money in politics and amplifying the voices of ordinary Americans. Clinton’s plan sharply contrasts with the positions of many Republican candidates, who continue to defend secret money or push to eliminate caps on political spending.

Here’s what eleven key campaign finance reform advocates had to say about her plan:

1. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.)
Voters in New Mexico and all across the country have called on their elected leaders to get money out of politics and give elections back to the people. It’s clearer than ever that we need true reform, including a constitutional amendment to restore integrity in our election system, and changes that ensure political groups backed by dark money donors must disclose their funding sources. Hillary Clinton’s proposal to revitalize American elections is groundbreaking, and I congratulate her for taking on this issue in the presidential campaign.

2. Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.)
This proposal by Hillary Clinton is an important step forward on campaign finance reform. The issue of disclosure and transparency is central to the fundamental success of our democracy.

3. Congressman John Sarbanes (D-Md.)
Secretary Clinton’s effort to fight big money in politics is a robust and comprehensive policy proposal that will put our democracy back into the hands of everyday Americans. By amplifying the power of small donations and enabling every American to have a voice in our government, we can curb the undue influence of big money in politics and return to a government of, by and for the people. I applaud the Secretary’s commitment to this issue and believe there’s no better candidate to advance reforms that strengthen our democracy.

4. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)....

[Wilms]

1. Get rid of Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

That alone will bring some integrity to the process.

[ghostsinthemachine]

2. This good... But just a start...

Ending corporate personhood and having 100% publicly financed elections are the keystones to ending corporate and monied control of our elections.

I am sure the next poster will rail her for having corporate PAC money in her campaign arsenal.

[whatchamacallit]

3. It's only words

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[coyote]

4. +1

[retrowire]

5. A disagreement.

Hillary Clinton says charge them a bit more and oversee them more carefully … Hillary Clinton’s proposals would only invite more dilution and finagle. The only way to contain the Street’s excesses is with reforms so big, bold, and public they can’t be watered down – busting up the biggest banks and resurrecting Glass-Steagall.

That is an excerpt from Bernie's financial reform speech. I think it runs parallel to Hillary's plan for restoring integrity to our elections.

If she's willing to overturn CU and get more transparency in the money in politics why not abstain from using CU and why not go all the way in controlling Wall St?

I just see a strategy of slapping people on the wrists and making things a bit more vague. Why would she treat our elections any different if she's not practicing what she preaches? It just really attaches itself to the idea that Hillary never would have touched these issues if Bernie didn't point them out first.

This is only a personal criticism.

[Half-Century Man]

6. Remove Donations altogether.

Make all elections completely and exclusively publicly funded.

Outlaw any broadcast for or against any politician that isn't connected to a candidate for office.

401(c)4s and 501(c4)s as public information/education services have their first amendment rights protected by being allowed to publish any print media they wish. You cannot teach with sound bites; teaching requires in depth analysis and explanations.

Make election days holidays.

Automatic voting registration upon reaching 18 years of age. No one loses the right to vote for any circumstance other than the renouncement of citizenship.

Repeal the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Reinstate the Fairness doctrine.

Make Rush Limbaugh drive a Disney Princess themed Smart Car, just because it will piss him off.

[TriplD]

7. Establish common sense rules???

Support a constitutional amendment. Clinton supports amending the Constitution to allow Americans to establish common sense rules to protect against the undue influence of billionaires and special interests and to restore the role of average voters in elections.

Who's common sense?

If you are going to talk about amending the constitution please have specifics first. We shouldn't amend the Constitution for the sake of amending the Constitution. If there are some "rules" she supports enshrining in the Constitution she should spell them out, not vague generalities.

Maybe she should poll on whether people think money = speech?

[artislife]

8. BWAHHHHHHHH!

Thanks for the giggle. You know she doesn't mean it, any of it. If she did, she would have chosen ACTION instead of words.




Like Bernie did.

[Gothmog]

9. Clinton has some of the best election law proposals of any candidate

The election law proposals made by Clinton are amazing