Political Power Is Necessary
This untold story began a half century ago amid a golden age of democratic reforms.
But if anything, the significance of Powells screed has been understated.
One of their goals was deregulating the campaign finance system.
Vice President Harris and former President TrumpAndrew Harnik/Getty Images; Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images
Then in a lawsuitmastermindedby American Enterprise Institute legal activists Ralph Winter andJohn Bolton(yes,thatJohn Bolton!)
At the twilight of the 20th century, Powells mission seemed on a glidepath.
But while the Supreme Court brieflyupheldthat legislation in 2003, it was a short-lived respite.
The Powell Memo had urged corporations and business leaders to fund political infrastructure focused on changing the judiciary.
Kennedy, though, was much like his predecessor, Powell.
Anotherstring of high court rulingsthen overturned law enforcement officials corruption convictions and gutted longstanding federal bribery statutes.
And that money almost always comes with big donors transactional expectations.
Data about legislative action buttresses Franks point.
Anotherstudyfound a correlation between unlimited campaign spending and a reduction in corporate taxes.
The same holds true for legislative and political inaction.
Even worse, an electoratepiningfor reform is typically given few political choices that promise any escape from it.
The 2024 campaign exemplifies the sad reality.
In 2025, she could be in a position to make a disclosure bill the law of the land.
Immediately after Sanders made that demand, the DNC handed the microphone to Illinois Gov.
The latter is already happening instates and citiesacross the country.
The election of federal officials is not a private affair.
Worse, some even demand contrition from those who dare to identify it as a problem.
