News Clips

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.”

The RNC’s use of donor money to pay Trump’s personal legal bills shows why Congress needs to extend the ban on such use of campaign funds to party committees, as well as candidate committees, said Paul S. Ryan, an attorney for the nonprofit Common Cause. “Federal law should ensure that contributions to political committees like the RNC are only used for legitimate political expenses—not for personal legal bills,” he said.

"How much taxpayer money is it going to take, to convince former President Trump that he lost the 2020 election?" said Stephanie Gómez, associate director of the Common Cause Texas advocacy group. "Wisconsin taxpayers are spending almost $700,000. Arizona taxpayers are on the hook for millions. Now, using emergency powers, Governor Abbott has got Texas taxpayers on the hook for $4 million more."

“This is a bit of my reformer hat on, but if we have to go another decade with maps that are ultimately found to be unconstitutional two or three cycles later on, it's dreadful. It just completely sinks a lot of us who are doing the work's morale and hopefulness. And I think increasingly in North Carolina, because we are the most litigated state in the country, I believe, over gerrymandered maps. A lot of the big U.S. Supreme Court cases have come out of North Carolina over the years. And sure, there are a lot of people here who don't know anything about what we were talking about or they may have a vague understanding about it. I wish more did. … But I think a lot of people, it contributes to this feeling of, ‘This stinks and democracy doesn't work,’ and, ‘What do you mean the lines that get drawn are rigged?’ or, you know, when they see that literally the legislative or congressional seats are preordained. … So this is another moment, and I don't know whether I am hopeful or not, because it's an uphill struggle as litigation always is. But you know what we saw last decade in North Carolina? I don't know if we're the only state in America that can say this, and I don't say it with pride. But every single legislative and congressional election in the aughts was ultimately run under districts and maps that were found to be unconstitutional. Every single one of them. From 2012 to 2020. And you know, you just can't sustain that.” — Bob Phillips, Executive Director of Common Cause North Carolina

When the capitol is closed, "the public loses touch with our government, we lose confidence in our government," said Sandy Ma, executive director of Common Cause Hawaii. "We really lose a sense that the government is acting for us."

“This is a good decision, not just for the people, but also we think for the Legislature itself; for real, thoughtful decision making,” said Sandy Ma, the executive director of Common Cause Hawaii, one of the two groups that filed the lawsuit. Bills became law without lawmakers and the public having sufficient opportunity to understand and debate their contents when the Legislature used “gut and replace,” Ma said. The ruling will restore trust in the legislative process because sometimes people think lawmakers have engaged in horse trading when a bill has been gutted and replaced without public discussion, Ma said.