In their Pledge to America, Republicans pledged to make government more transparent. Are they telling the truth, or is this just one more in the long list of Republican lies to America. The proof is in the voting, so lets take a look.
Despite promises of Senate Democrats to amend their signature campaign disclosure legislation, a unified Republican caucus today again blocked the legislation from an up-or-down vote in Congress’ upper chamber.
Republicans stuck together to oppose the DISCLOSE Act, a legislative response to the Supreme Court’s January ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which opened the door for unrestricted sums of corporate and union treasury money to fund political advertisements. A unified Democratic caucus supported the legislation, voting 59-39 on a procedural vote that needed 60 votes to pass.
Republicans successfully filibustered the DISCLOSE Act in July as well, after the House narrowly passed the bill in June.
The bill’s main focus is new reporting and disclosure requirements for groups that run independent expenditures, such as television ads that overtly advocate for or against federal candidates, and electioneering communications — that is, broadcast communications that feature a federal candidate but don’t expressly advocate for that candidate’s election or defeat.
New restrictions would apply to corporations, unions, trade associations, so-called 527 groups and 501(c)(4), (c)(5) and (c)(6) advocacy organizations.
One provision would require groups to show the names of the top donors in the advertisements and have the head of the organization or the group’s largest contributor "stand by the ad" — giving the same, familiar disclaimer that candidates must include in their advertisements: "My name is so-and-so, and I approve this message."
Additionally, the bill would prohibit companies from producing independent expenditures if they met certain criteria. These include bailout recipients with outstanding loans from the government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), large government contractors and foreign-controlled companies… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <Common Dreams>
One day after making the pledge, Republicans had already violated it, They don’t want you to know who is financing them, because if you do, you also know just who it is that they represent. Fortunately for us, Rachel Maddow did the research and blew the lid off their lies with Chris Hayes.
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The bottom line is what I’ve been saying all week, and I hope you start saying it with me. With all their flaws, at least Democrats try to represent everyone. Republicans govern exclusively for the benefit of criminal corporations and the richest one percent.
Of course, the best solution is to institute 100% public financing of all federal campaigns. Why?
Corporations are NOT people! Money is NOT speech!
12 Responses to “What Republicans Don’t Want You to Know!”
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The only surprise here is that it took them a whole day to violate their Pledge. Again, it is a case of republican words not matching republican actions.
That always applies, Jerry.
To finance his campaign, Mr. Obama did his own clever money raising.
This latest vote makes it nigh onto impossible to go against all that corporate money and influence…especially in the media.
But the overwhelming majority of Obama’s money came from small donors. The corps jumped in late in the game, after the outcome was known. He should have said NO.
Yes it does.
If Democratic campaign strategists actually cared about communicating with the public and winning elections, the DISCLOSE Act is one issue they could get behind, come up with a few slogans and get these slogans out to the public. About 80% of the public disagreed with the Citizens United decision. I assume an even larger percentage would agree that people have a right to know who’s financing the political ads that we’re all getting bombarded with.
And it’s one they should be all over like white on rice.
I was just listening to President Clinton, man does he know his shit. He is good! He casually went into detail about Obama his time in, where we are, and what would happen if the R’s got back in and set this all back to Bush. I wish more people would hear him we would be golden!
Slick Willie didn’t get his nickname for nothing, Jim. Only his junior head isn’t that bright.
In their Pledge to America, Republicans pledged to make government more transparent.
LOL!!!! I went to go see “You Again” earlier this today and it was hilarious, but that one sentence above about busted my gut laughing.
Thanks Beach. 🙂
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who backed an ad with as polarized as this country has become.
True, Demeur, in general, but it does take people paying attention and thinking. Sadly, that is not common enough.