GOP Continues To Put Corporations Lobbyists Ahead Of Ordinary Citizens

By Yashwanth Manjunath

According to a story released by the AP yesterday afternoon, Republican senators are determined to filibuster the DISCLOSE Act. The DISCLOSE Act would impose new donor and contribution requirements on nearly all organizations that air political ads independently of candidates or political parties. The legislation would require the sponsor of the ad to appear in the ad and take responsibility for it. The DISCLOSE Act could potentially bring a transformative level of transparency and accountability to control of the campaign process by special interests, and limit the damage done by the recent Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC 558 U.S. 50 (2010).  President Obama to his credit came out strongly in favor of the DISCLOSE Act while speaking at the Rose Garden yesterday arguing that

“Corporate lobbyists will be able to tell members of Congress, if they don’t vote the right way, they will face an onslaught of negative ads in their next campaign, and all too often, no one will actually know who’s behind those ads.” “You’d think that making these reforms would be a matter of common sense, particularly since they primarily involve just making sure that folks who are financing these ads are disclosed, so that the American people can make up their own minds,”. “Nobody is saying you can’t run the ads; just make sure the people know who in fact is behind financing the ads.”

I say let the GOP actually filibuster this. Make them shut the government down and read from the phone book, while the media explains to the American people why the Republicans are in favor of continuing to allow corporate lobbyists decide the outcomes of elections from the shadows.

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