Abuse of Power

Our country has survived the Civil War, two world wars, the Great Depression, the Great Recession, and many other hardships along the way. Although many have been left behind or left out during those struggles, we must expand our efforts for an inclusive democracy so that it lives up to its promise. We survived the insurrection and a coup attempt last year. Can our democracy withstand another attempt in the next presidential election? We cannot afford to find out. The Senate must immediately pass pending legislation that has already passed the House before it’s too late and work closely on reforms to the Electoral Count Act. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has indicated the Senate will again take up voting rights when it reconvenes. No Senate rule, including the filibuster, should stand in the way.

Paul Seamus Ryan, a campaign-law expert at Common Cause, which advocates for accountable government, said that when Trump was a candidate, it would have been illegal for him to spend his own campaign funds on legal fees. That’s because federal law prohibits candidates from spending campaign funds on personal expenses, unrelated to politics. But Ryan said no such ban applies to political parties. So the RNC can pay Trump’s legal bills, even for an investigation unconnected to his time as president. “This is an abuse of donor trust,” Ryan said. ‘I’ve been following money in politics closely for more than two decades, and I’m unaware of any similar past abuse of donor trust and donor money to pay personal legal bills of private citizens.”

We believe that our government “by the people” is stronger when more people participate. We believe in free and fair elections. We believe politicians should not be allowed to silence voters, either by nullifying our votes or by creating new barriers to the ballot box. As advocates for the right to vote, we know a scam when we see it. That’s why we’ll do what it takes to stop these state senators’ “election review” and protect voting rights for all.

Today, Common Cause urged every member of the U.S. House of Representatives to vote “yes” on the resolution to certify a criminal contempt citation against former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows for refusing to comply with subpoenas related to his role in, and knowledge of, the January 6th insurrection at the United States Capitol - a brazen attempt to overturn the 2020 election which resulted in multiple deaths and left hundreds seriously injured. The letter emphasizes that the House Select Committee investigating the insurrection referred the criminal contempt charges to the full House in a unanimous, bipartisan vote. The letter also notes that Common Cause plans to key-vote this legislation in our Democracy Scorecard, which we send to our 1.5 million members.

Thursday marks the first day of the Summit for Democracy, a virtual meeting of more than 100 heads of state dedicated to furthering democratic values. But lawyers have been sounding the alarm on the democratic experiment in the U.S. post-Jan. 6 as the country faces two crucial elections in the next four years. Host Scott Tong speaks with Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections at the watchdog Common Cause, about these dangers.

There is no substitute for legislation, and the time to act is now. Recently, more than 150 democracy scholars wrote that “defenders of democracy in America still have a slim window of opportunity to act. But time is ticking away, and midnight is approaching.” If we are to lead by the “power of our example,” President Biden and senators must step up and do what it takes to pass these bills as quickly as possible. When our leaders embark on the year of action at the summit, this must be a top priority. Democracy is resilient, and they have the power to act. We cannot afford to wait.