Hey, RNC! Call me!
The massive political network of the billionaire Koch brothers has made a surprising new enemy: The Republican National Committee (RNC). “The RNC is now openly arguing, however, that the Kochs’ political operation is trying to control the Republican Party’s master voter file, and to gain influence over — some even say control of — the GOP,” according to a report in Yahoo News today.
RNC Chief of Staff, sounding a lot like me, said, “I think it’s very dangerous and wrong to allow a group of very strong, well-financed individuals who have no accountability to anyone to have control over who gets access to the data when, why and how.”
It’s a pretty delicious sentiment—that a few unaccountable billionaires shouldn’t get to control things in elections–coming from a group that has fought contribution limits, opposed efforts to address Citizens United v. FEC, and whose chair has even questioned the need for political spending disclosure.
There’s already a broad, national consensus that our current system is a problem and it should be changed. And here at Every Voice, we’re working to build a national, broad-based, diverse, bipartisan coalition of supporters to make that change and we are not about to turn down a group with the reach of the RNC as they realize that our democracy is not served well by the wealthy turning our elections into their new sport, like yacht-racing.
So here are some policies the RNC could support, along with urging their presidential candidates and members of Congress to do the same, that could address their concerns about “well-financed individuals.”
- Increase political participation. Let’s give everyday people a bigger voice in politics by super-sizing small donations with matching funds (like in the Fair Elections Now Act that was introduced yesterday) and through tax credits for small donations.
- Shine the light on dark money. A lot of the Koch money they’re concerned about will never see the light of day due to the brothers’ sprawling network of nonprofit groups. The RNC could support the DISCLOSE Act that would require more disclosure of dark money groups, they could encourage the SEC to adopt a new rule requiring publicly-traded corporations to disclose political spending, and they could urge President Obama to sign an executive order requiring government contractors to disclose their political spending.
- Address Citizens United. We know RNC members are a big fan of the Citizens United v. FEC decision but they’re just shooting themselves in the foot. They should support policies, like a constitutional amendment, to address it.
That’s just a start. I have plenty of ideas, RNC. Drop me a note – adam@everyvoice.org – and let’s set up a meeting.