Sen. Bernie Sanders said during his primetime appearance at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday night that overturning the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision should be “at the very top” of the party’s list of priorities, particularly given the outsized role that billionaires and dark-money groups have played in recent elections.
“Billionaires in both parties should not be able to buy elections, including primary elections,” Sanders (I-Vt.) said in his speech to Democratic delegates and activists gathered in Chicago. “For the sake of our democracy, we must overturn the disastrous Citizens United Supreme Court decision and move toward public funding of elections.”
Sanders, a two-time Democratic presidential candidate, argued during his remarks that billionaire and corporate influence on U.S. elections is a major barrier obstructing policy changes that are overwhelmingly popular with the American public.
“These oligarchs tell us we shouldn’t tax the rich,” said the Vermont senator. “The oligarchs tell us we shouldn’t take on price gouging; we shouldn’t expand Medicare to cover dental, hearing, and vision; and we shouldn’t increase Social Security benefits for struggling seniors.”
“Well I’ve got some bad news for them: That is precisely what we are going to do, and we’re going to win this struggle because this is precisely what the American people want from their government,” he continued.
Watch Sanders’ full speech:
According to the campaign finance watchdog OpenSecrets, super PACs — products of the 2010 Citizens United decision — and other outside groups have already spent more than $1 billion on federal elections this cycle, far outpacing previous election years.
The largest spender thus far has been Make America Great Again Inc., a super PAC supporting Republican nominee Donald Trump.
OpenSecrets also found that so-called “guardian angel” megadonors — “a term for big donors who supply 40% or more of a committee’s funds and are a political group’s top contributor” — have spent nearly $200 million so far this cycle.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s super PAC, which is funded by Republican billionaires, has spent big on Democratic primary contests this year in an effort to oust lawmakers who have backed a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. Two members of the progressive “Squad” — Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.) — recently lost primary contests to AIPAC-backed Democrats.
In recent years, Sanders has repeatedly urged the Democratic Party to ban super PAC spending in its primaries, arguing that it’s hypocritical for Democrats to call for campaign finance reform while simultaneously allowing billionaire-funded groups to pour staggering sums into their primary contests.
“What you’re seeing from AIPAC and other super PACs is simply outrageous,” Sanders said earlier this week. “Democrats often talk about the need to end Citizens United, and we agree. They talk about moving to public funding of elections. But if you’re serious about the power of money in politics, you can say today, sorry, no super PACs allowed in primaries.”
During his DNC speech on Tuesday, Sanders also demanded an immediate cease-fire to end Israel’s “horrific war in Gaza” and said he looks forward to working with Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, to pass an agenda that strengthens public education, slashes prescription drug prices, and expands healthcare to all.
“Let us be very clear: This is not a radical agenda,” said Sanders. “But let me tell you what a radical agenda is, and that is Trump’s Project 2025. At a time of massive income and wealth inequality, giving more tax breaks to billionaires is radical. Putting forth budgets to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid is radical. Letting polluters destroy our planet is radical.”
“We must take on Big Pharma, Big Oil, Big AG, Big Tech, and all the other corporate monopolists whose greed is denying progress for working people,” Sanders continued. “On November 5, let us elect Kamala Harris as our president and let us go forward to create the nation we know we can become.”
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