WASHINGTON, D.C. – Democrats and Republicans clashed during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday on a long-shot proposal to amend the Constitution to limit political campaign donations.
The amendment introduced last year by Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., and co-sponsored by Colorado Sens. Michael Bennett and Mark Udall, would reverse Supreme Court decisions on campaign finance by amending the Constitution to allow Congress and states to regulate an influx in campaign fundraising.
During the hearing, Democrats argued that massive amounts of money spent on political campaigns have aided in influencing political outcome’s of candidates who serve donors’ interests.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and House Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., squared off on the proposed amendment, which is drawn along party lines.
“The goal here is to stir up one party’s political base, so they will show up in November, and it’s to do it by complaining about some Americans’ free-speech and association rights,” McConnell said.
At issue is the relatively new landscape of campaign finance since several Supreme Court decisions opened the door to unlimited corporate and nonprofit spending on campaigns through political ads.
The so-called “dark money” refers to private donations to nonprofit groups that were formed after the 2010 Citizens United decision that allowed unlimited corporate spending toward independent campaigns not associated with a candidate, according to Viveca Novak, editorial and communications director at Open Secrets, an organization that investigates money in politics.
“The opportunity to create those groups existed before, but there wasn’t such an advantage because Citizens United made it possible for these groups and other corporations to spend money directly advocating for or against a candidate,” Novak said.
In Colorado, the tight Senate race between incumbent Udall and Rep. Cory Gardner already has a reported $3.5 million in outside spending, according to Novak, who says for U.S. midterm election, 2014 is on record to break the 2010 cycle.
Reid said the interest groups are essentially running the show.
“The constitution doesn’t give corporations a right to vote or dollar bills a right to vote,” he said during the testimony.
Democrats said the current rulings by the Supreme Court favor of deep-pocketed donors who can weigh-in too heavily in the election process.
Republicans, including Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said the proposed amendment would be overbroad in its power.
“Lets be clear, this amendment does not just do it for corporations or billionaires, this amendment if adopted would give Congress absolute authority to regulate the political speech of every single American,” Cruz said.
Bennet released a statement citing the 2012 amendment Colorado voters passed urging campaign-finance reform.
“The Senate has a chance to take the first step forward to reduce the influence of unchecked money distorting our electoral system and degrading our democracy,” he said in a statement.
mbowerman@durangoherald.com. Mary Bowerman is graduate student at American University in Washington, D.C., and an intern for The Durango Herald.
