2020 Articles

The Citizen’s United v FEC decision by the Supreme Court opened the floodgates to campaign spending by deep-pocket anonymous donors. The following articles and reports portray the aftermath of this decision:

December 27, 2020: Texas Fracking Billionaires Drew Covid-19 Aid While Investing in Rivals Wall Street Journal

December 8, 2020: 20 Things We Learned About Money in Politics in 2020 Brennan Center

December 1, 2020: Campaign Finance Victories in 2020 Elections Brennan Center

November 27, 2020: Trump and a Republic That We Could not Keep Counter Punch

November 23, 2020: A dark money mystery in Florida centers on the campaign of a spoiler candidate who appeared to help a Republican win by 32 votes CNN

November 20, 2020: Dark Money in the 2020 Election Brennan Center

November 17, 2020: Charles Koch Got the Free-Market Dystopia He Wanted. Now He’d Like Your Approval New Republic

November 17, 2020: Alaska Becomes First In The Nation to Approve Top-4 Primary with Ranked Choice Voting Independent Voter News

November 16, 2020: Justice Hears Case by Major Donor Opposing Governor’s Pandemic Actions Wisconsin Democracy Campaign

November 13, 2020: A Decade Later, Dems Again Say They’re Ready to Do Campaign Finance Reform Sludge

November 10, 2020: State Dems: We Still Need Campaign Finance Reform! Wisconsin Democracy Campaign

October 17, 2020: Citizens United is infamous. But an obscure case four years later — and state lawmakers’ response — has made Wisconsin politics a ‘plaything of the super rich.’ The Badger Project

October 14, 2020: ‘Look for Power in the Shadows’: Watch Sheldon Whitehouse Shine Light on ‘Dark Money Operation’ Behind GOP Supreme Court Takeover Common Dreams

October 11, 2020: Is Powell’s plot finally coming to fruition? Albuquerque Journal

October 10, 2020: The Swamp That Trump Built New York Times

October 8, 2020: The Mighty Money ($3 Billion) Fueling Campaign 2020 Washington Post

October 8, 2020: Ballot Measure 2 will improve Alaska’s elections Anchorage Daily News

October 5, 2020: Billionaire Oligarchs and Anonymous Megadonors Behind Amy Coney Barrett Ads Sludge

October 1, 2020: 2020 election to near $11 billion in total spending, smashing records Open Secrets

October 1, 2020: It’s about time billionaires paid their fair share The Daily Cardinal

September 25, 2020: In Heavily Gerrymandered Wisconsin, a Bipartisan Grassroots Movement Fights for Fair Maps Sludge

September 17, 2020: This Is the Future That Liberals Want The Atlantic

September 16, 2020: Trump shattered his promise to ‘drain the swamp.’ The self-dealing would be epic in a second term. Washington Post

September 10, 2020: The Mighty Money ($3 Billion) Fueling Campaign 2020 Washington Post

September 9, 2020: Political groups’ ‘dark money’ spending set to exceed $1 billion since Citizens United decision Washington Times

September 4, 2020: The SALT tax deduction is a handout to the rich. It should be eliminated not expanded Brookings

August 31, 2020: How a Biden win can sink one of McConnell’s top priorities CNN

August 17, 2020: ‘Disturbing Milestone’: Just 12 US Billionaires Now Own More Than $1 Trillion in Combined Wealth Common Dreams

July 21, 2020: Democracy reform groups to Biden: Don’t you forget about us The Fulcrum

July 17, 2020: Dark Money Floods in to State Elections, Revealing Cracks in Disclosure Laws Sludge

July 13, 2020: Ten Ways to (Actually) Drain the Swamp The Bulwark

July 7, 2020: The origins of the Republican Party’s plutocratic populism Washington Post

July 1, 2020: Billionaires Spent 41 Times More On 2016 Election Compared To 2008 Forbes

July 1, 2020: Why Do the Rich Have So Much Power? Paul Krugman via the NYTimes

June 17, 2020: The D.C. swamp has gotten swampier under Trump, report finds Raw Story

June 17, 2020: Why isn’t PG&E getting the death penalty? Raw Story

June 3, 2020: Montana’s tough donor disclosure law survives at Supreme Court The Fulcrum

June 3, 2020: United To Amend Resolution Passes in Lafayette Co. Monroe Times

June 2, 2020: Democracy reform groups seize time of racial protest to press their cause The Fulcrum

May 28, 2020: Trump Admin Finalizes Rule That Could Protect Foreign Dark Money in Elections Sludge

May 27, 2020: Lafayette County Backs Overturning Citizens United Urban Milwaukee

May 26, 2020: ‘Dark money’ groups dodge reporting requirement in new regulations Politico

May 20, 2020: The Coronavirus Crisis in the U.S. Is a Failure of Democracy Time

May 15, 2020: Dems’ Health Insurer Bailout Follows Bundled Checks from the Industry’s Lobbyists Sludge

May 5, 2020: On Wisconsin! 17 More Communities Join Call for an Amendment American Promise

April 24, 2020: Campaign to Overturn Citizens United Keeps Racking Up Wins Sludge

April 17, 2020: Plain Talk: How long can Republicans ignore the people’s voice on redistricting? The Capital Times

April 16, 2020: Northwoods Voters Provided Clear Direction On Referendum Issues WXPR Rhinelander

April 16, 2020: Coronavirus Lays Bare The Staggering Class Inequalities That Divide America The Appeal

April 15, 2020: Dems’ Health Insurer Bailout Follows Bundled Checks from the Industry’s Lobbyists Sludge

April 9, 2020: American Democracy May Be Dying Paul Krugman via N.Y. Times

April 5, 2020: Dark Money Pours Into Wisconsin Supreme Court Race Sludge

April 4, 2020: 17 communities to vote on ‘We the People’ April 7 Monroe Times

April 3, 2020: Supreme Court right to uphold Seattle Democracy Vouchers The Hill

April 2, 2020: Chris Abele: ‘You’re Stuck with Me’ Shepherd Express

March 31, 2020: Poll: 57% of voters say US political system works only for insiders with money & power The Hill

March 26, 2020: 17 Wisconsin Communities to Vote on Overturning Citizens United Wisconsin Democracy Campaign

March 13, 2020: This week’s Viewpoint letters Northwoods Star Journal

March 13, 2020: Former Judge Resigns From the Supreme Court Bar Slate

March 4, 2020: Fighting corruption can unite the American people The Fulcrum

March 2, 2020: Seventh District residents find common ground on campaign finance reform, national issues New Jersey Echoes Sentinel

February 26, 2020: Group organizes to get dark money out of politics Advance Titan

February 25, 2019: Radical Resolution Calling for a Constitutional Rewrite Passes Wisconsin Assembly Center for Media & Democracy

February 19, 2020: Wisconsin Assembly again approves call for Constitutional convention The Cap Times

February 5, 2020: Time to Reverse ‘Citizens United’ and Corporate Constitutional Rights Rep. Pramila Jayapal via The Nation

February 1, 2020: More Money, More Problems for Democracy The New York Times

January 30, 2020: America’s democracy is failing. Here’s why Vox

January 27, 2020: Take the Money and Run The American Prospect

January 26, 2020: “Unhappy Birthday” event for Citizens United 10 year anniversary Channel 3000

January 21, 2020: Citizens United in Wisconsin: a decade of disaster Matt Rothschiled via Wisconsin Examiner

January 21, 2020: Another Date That Will Live in Infamy: On the Tenth Anniversary of Citizens United The Montana Post

January 20, 2020: I’m a conservative against Citizens United The Hill

January 18, 2020: Unhappy anniversary to Citizens United Matt Rothschiled via GazetteXtra

January 14, 2020: More money, less transparency: A decade under Citizens United Open Secrets

January 12, 2020: Ten years on, Citizens United ruling has changed U.S. politics — but not in the way many feared Los Angeles Times