Congressional Ethics

“The insurrection was a violent affront to free and fair elections and the orderly transition of power,” said Karen Hobart Flynn, president of the liberal group Common Cause. “January 6th interrupted two centuries of the peaceful transfer of power. It was staged by a domestic enemy fueled by the lies fed by the former president, some Republican politicians, and their allies who tried to subvert a bedrock democratic principle: that voters decide elections,” she said.

Not all of those honored on this list are registered lobbyists. But they are all key players who the nation’s biggest companies, advocacy groups, labor unions and trade associations turn to when they want their voices heard in the nation’s capital. The ranks of policy experts, influencers and advocates run deep in Washington, but these are the people who stand out for delivering results for their clients in the halls of Congress and the administration. ... GRASSROOTS: Karen Hobert Flynn and Aaron Scherb, Common Cause 

Stephen Spaulding, senior counsel at the government watchdog group Common Cause, described such violent tactics as “a core threat to our democracy”. “The threat of violence is really to intimidate people from doing their jobs and upholding their oath of office,” Spaulding said. “When you start having these violent episodes enter the system, it is totally counter to the way that we are supposed to engage in open and fair debate about policy issues in this country.”

"Allowing donors to repay candidates’ loans is a shell game that breeds cynicism about our elections. Campaign donations end up in the candidate’s pocket, after the election – while voters are deprived of information about who’s funding the candidate, while deciding how to vote."

Common Cause is urging the U.S. House of Representatives to expel Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), and as a first step vote to censure and strip him of his committee assignments after he circulated a video depicting him killing Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and attacking President Biden. The letter, sent today to every U.S. Representative, emphasizes that removing the Arizona Republican from his committee assignments is the most lenient penalty that should be levelled against any member for such nakedly irresponsible and dangerous conduct in the charged current environment created by former President Trump’s lies and refusal to concede his resounding defeat in the 2020 presidential election. 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.  

Senate Republicans used a loophole in the Senate’s rules—the filibuster —to block even holding a debate on the Freedom to Vote Act. It’s the third time they’ve stopped their colleagues from debating voting rights legislation this year. Senators now face a choice: protect the freedom to vote and find a way to send this bill to President Biden’s desk, or let it die due to Republican obstruction and abuse of internal Senate rules.