Tag: money in politics

GOP Legal Troubles Boost Democrats’ Anti-Corruption Message

The following article by Ally Mutnick and Zach C. Cohen was posted on the National Journal website August 22, 2018:

DFL challenger Dean Phillips and Rep. Erik Paulsen greeted each other at the end of Tuesday’s Third Congressional District debate in St. Louis Park. Credit: Glen Stubbe, Star Tribune

Dean Phillips, a Democrat running for Congress in a suburban Minneapolis battleground district, had just opened and closed a 75-minute debate by railing against the corrupting influence of money in politics, the hallmark issue of his campaign.

Shortly after he got off stage, he read the news that three Republicans close to President Trump were indicted on, convicted of, or pled guilty to charges of financial fraud or breaking campaign finance law.

“Making the argument through anecdotes or through my experience is one thing,” Phillips said in an interview Wednesday. “But when the news headlines bear the facts in a much more bold and public way, it absolutely supports the contention.”

View the complete post here.

Members of Congress respond to more than money – sometimes

The following article by Jan Leighley, Professor, Department of Government, American University, was posted on the Conversation website February 9, 2018:

Demonstrators protest against U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order banning travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States, in front of the U.S embassy in Brussel, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Does citizen activism really affect the actions of elected officials?

Despite the ubiquitous role of money in campaigns, elections and policymaking, some citizens clearly still believe in the power of protest.

In the month of December 2017 alone, an organization called The Crowd Counting Consortium “tallied 796 protests, demonstrations, strikes, marches, sit-ins and rallies,” some of them featuring thousands of people, across the country. Over the past year, the offices of many members of Congress and other elected officials have been jammed with constituents voicing their opinions on the Affordable Care Act, the immigration program called DACA, abortion and sexual harassment, among others. Continue reading “Members of Congress respond to more than money – sometimes”