In 2018, when Beto O’Rourke was running for Senate, he sat down for an hour-long interview with Ryan Grimm to talk about insurgent candidacies, campaign finance, and the pernicious influence of money in politics.
The discussion is significant given the scope of the changes that ALL the Democratic Presidential candidates are promising. How much any of these candidates can do, and how much Congress is willing and able to put in place, will depend on their ability to fight the money that lobbyists and PACs will throw hand-over-fist to maintain the status quo and to advance their interests.
The system is not wired for this.
Here’s a link to the full discussion, which is well worth a listen. And here’s a short excerpt from the conversation:
1. Call Time
Members of Congress spend 40-60% of their time calling PACs, lobbyists, and special interests to ask for donations. Mornings are spent in a boiler room with a series of cubicles and phones and evenings are spent at fundraisers. Why? Because the first order of business for any member of Congress is to ensure that they get reelected. Beto said as much recently in an interview with Joy Ann Reid:
Getting re-elected is important to pass a progressive agenda and, as Beto acknowledges, Representatives will stay true to their principles on core issues. But it’s the issues where they have less at stake where they may be willing to vote for a bill that contains provisions that benefit a special interest. Around the 9:20 mark in the full video, Beto says referencing Lawrence Lessig’s work:
Issues 1 through 10, on which you ran for Congress, what you want to do for your constituents – no amount of money is going to buy you. But we will vote on 1200 different items in every session of Congress, so for items 11 through 1200, why not make these guys or these gals happy by voting their way, keeping the money coming in, and allowing you to focus on 1 through 10.
2. Dues
This section of the conversation which begins at the 9:53 mark was an eye-opener for me. Every member of Congress is expected to raise money for the DCCC (or, if you’re a Republican, the RCCC) to help ensure the party’s majority in Congress. This is called “paying dues.” Again, the impulse behind this practice may be good but it is ripe for corruption.
Beto explains that the amount you pay in “dues” depends on your committee assignment. If you’re a member of what’s deemed an unimportant committee, your expected dues may be only $150,000. But if you’re a member of a committee that regulates major industries or large government contractors, your dues will range from $500,000 to $1,000,000. Money buys influence and access. The cost of running campaigns makes the pursuit of money and the compromises that inevitably come with that all but impossible to avoid.
3. Grassroots Campaigning
Around the 22:25 mark Beto describes his “Road to Damascus moment” and the realization that the system is “fucked.” Beto’s cursing may get him more attention but what stands out to me is that he uses a literary expression like the “road to Damascus.” (Beto often does. His sentences are long, the syntax is complex, and the vocabulary rich, and he avoids canned phrases and boilerplate formulations.)
Already in his first term in Congress, Beto decided to ditch the built-in pay to play system. In the 2017-2018 session, he sponsored with Ro Khanna the No PAC Act, and in every campaign since his first term he has refused all donations from PACs, SuperPACs, bundlers, lobbyists, and other special interests. This includes his Presidential campaign.
What do you learn in a grassroots campaign? What do you learn from monthly town halls with your constituents? What do you learn from a campaign whose primary tool is door-to-door canvassing?
Beto answers this question through an example. When first campaigning to unseat a popular Democratic incumbent in Congress in 2011, Beto would knock on doors and introduce himself with useful but also generic promises about healthcare and education. He learned two things. Residents in El Paso were deeply concerned about stopping developers from building in Resler Canyon. And veterans in this town with a large military base complained that it could take over a year to get an appointment at the local VA, especially for mental health services. Beto says that these conversations drove the point home for him that “care delayed is care denied.” When he got to Congress he asked to serve on the Veterans Affairs committee – a low dues committee – and this experience now informs his Veterans Plan.
Grab a cup of coffee and take some time to listen to the full interview if you want to learn how the current campaign finance system works and how to combat it.
If you’re inspired, contribute to and/or volunteer for Beto’s grassroots campaign. No PACs, no SuperPACs, no lobbyists, no bundlers! And the very few fundraisers that he’s held, precisely 8 out of 360 events, have all been live-streamed.
Friday, Sep 6, 2019 · 4:33:30 PM +00:00
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Bobs Telecaster points out below that Lawrence Lessig has done more than anyone else to point out the influence of money in politics. I’m not going to link to Amazon but do find an independent bookseller or local public library to get a copy of Republic, Lost: Version 2.0 and America, Compromised.
If you want to get involved with a group fighting money in politics, check out demandprogress.org.
You can also join Stacey Abram’s FairFight2020: