Over the weekend, Bernie unveiled his plan to end all corporate giving in federal elections. It should come as a surprise, since he's been talking about it for years and put as much of it as possible into effect in his own campaign. This is giant step from Pelosi's generally weak For the People Act (H.R.1) that purported to solve many of the same problems, passed March 8 in a strict party line vote, only to be buried alive without any hearings or debate by Moscow Mitch.Bernie's advocacy has led to him accruing more individual grassroots donors than any other presidential contender, not just for 2020, but in history. His ban drives establishment Democrats up the wall on several levels since it absolutely would drain the DC swamp for real and would, for example also apply to national party conventions and to presidential inaugural activities. Bernie's small donor contributions have resulted in him raising the most money of any of the Democratic contenders. As of the most recent information from OpenSecrets.org these are the amounts raised by the serious (and semi-serious) contenders-- along with what percentage came from small donors:
• Bernie- $46,153,240 (60.1%)• Elizabeth Warren- $35,527,781 (47.6%)• Mayo Pete- $32,030,206 (48.8%)• Kamala- $24,832,245 (38.9%)• Status Quo Joe- $21,473,223 (37.7%)• Booker- $12,257,402 (16.1%)• Beto- $12,838,584 (55%)• Klobuchar- $12,633,302 (25.2%)
Unlike the other candidates, most Bernie's donors just give to Bernie Here's the outline of his plank on getting corporate money out of politics:
• Ban corporate contributions to the Democratic Party Convention and all related committees• Update and strengthen the Federal Election Campaign Act to return to a system of mandatory public funding for National Party Conventions.• Ban all corporate donations for inaugural events and cap individual donations to $500.• Pass a Constitutional Amendment that makes clear that money is not speech and corporations are not people, which will overturn the Supreme Court ruling that says money is speech: Buckley v. Valeo and overturn Citizens United, which allows corporations to spend unlimited money on elections. This also includes passing legislation to end super PACs, political spending by 501c4s and other organizations who accept unlimited contributions or do not disclose donors.• Abolish the worthless FEC and replace it with the Federal Election Administration, a true law enforcement agency originally proposed by former Senators John McCain and Russ Feingold.• End the influence of corporations at the DNC by banning donations from federal lobbyists and corporation, instituting a lifetime lobbying ban for National Party Chairs and Co-Chairs, as well as banning Chairs and Co-Chairs from working for entities with federal contracts or that are seeking government approval for projects or mergers and that can reasonably be expected to have business before Congress in the future.• Passing mandatory public financing laws for all federal elections.• Ban advertising during presidential primary debates.• Institute a lifetime lobbying ban for former members of Congress and senior staffers.
None of this has anything to do with what Trump was talking about when he campaigned on draining the swamp-- a promise that has led to the worst swamp problem in the history of Washington and the most corrupt Regime in the history of our country.
