We speak with former Michigan Congressmember Andy Levin, a former synagogue president, who lost his 2022 Democratic primary in a race that saw millions spent by pro-Israel groups to unseat the progressive Jewish lawmaker. AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and other lobby groups have used the same playbook over the years to defeat members of Congress who do not toe the line, and Levin says the Democratic Party has to act to stop such “dark money” from deciding elections and push for a new policy on Israel-Palestine that brings peace. “We need to all get along there, and we need to work together here to make that happen,” he says.
What is the real solution to money buying elections. All I can think of is the gov gives you a budget, and that is all that can be spent. People are welcome to voice thier opinions, but not to spend money spreading it. Seems unlikely to work out as planned. Any better ideas?
Limit campaigning to 6 weeks before the election. Our drawn out campaign cycle is unsubstainable.
1st amendment would be an issue with this.
Ban political advertising and campaign contributions, at minimum. Might need a constitutional amendment for this.
Or it might be necessary to ban rich people.
Haha, now we’re talking!
Yeah that’s the thing, an solution that requires an ammendment is a nonstarter. That is why all these PACs exist. They are not part of the official campaign, so they aren’t under any campaign rules. I just don’t know how we manage that without an ammendment.
Prevent substantial wealth differentials in the first place.
You’re not wrong. But while you can knock them down, you can’t stop them. The powerful will always find a way.
This is correct. The government decided the amount you get for ads and such. I’d really like something like France also where we have a media black out about it leading up to the election.