No issue has animated Mitch McConnell more consistently than campaign finance deregulation. For decades, he has called money in politics "speech" and any restriction on it "censorship." He filibustered the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (McCain-Feingold) in 2002. When it passed anyway, he sued to overturn it.
In McConnell v. FEC (2003), the Supreme Court upheld most of the law 5–4. McConnell called it "the worst day of my political life" and vowed to continue fighting.
He got his wish with Citizens United v. FEC (2010). McConnell filed an amicus brief urging the Court to strike down limits on corporate and union political spending. The 5–4 ruling largely adopted his position, unleashing unlimited corporate spending on elections through Super PACs and dark money nonprofits.
How It Harmed Americans:
Outside spending in federal elections exploded from $338 million in 2008 to over $2 billion in 2020. Dark money — untraceable political spending — topped $1 billion in a single election cycle. A tiny fraction of the wealthiest Americans now dominate political giving: the top 0.01% of donors provides over 40% of all disclosed political contributions.
Foreign interests can launder money through dark-money nonprofits and shell companies to influence U.S. elections — and because McConnell has repeatedly filibustered every version of the DISCLOSE Act, Americans still cannot know who is funding the political ads they see. The result is a democracy awash in secret money, where the preferences of billionaires systematically drown out the voices of ordinary citizens.
Reference List:
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010)
McConnell v. Federal Election Commission, 540 U.S. 93 (2003)
OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, 1990–2024"
Brennan Center for Justice, "Citizens United Explained" (2020)
DISCLOSE Act, S. 3628 (111th), S. 3369 (112th), S. 2515 (113th), H.R. 1 (116th)
In McConnell v. FEC (2003), the Supreme Court upheld most of the law 5–4. McConnell called it "the worst day of my political life" and vowed to continue fighting.
He got his wish with Citizens United v. FEC (2010). McConnell filed an amicus brief urging the Court to strike down limits on corporate and union political spending. The 5–4 ruling largely adopted his position, unleashing unlimited corporate spending on elections through Super PACs and dark money nonprofits.
How It Harmed Americans:
Outside spending in federal elections exploded from $338 million in 2008 to over $2 billion in 2020. Dark money — untraceable political spending — topped $1 billion in a single election cycle. A tiny fraction of the wealthiest Americans now dominate political giving: the top 0.01% of donors provides over 40% of all disclosed political contributions.
Foreign interests can launder money through dark-money nonprofits and shell companies to influence U.S. elections — and because McConnell has repeatedly filibustered every version of the DISCLOSE Act, Americans still cannot know who is funding the political ads they see. The result is a democracy awash in secret money, where the preferences of billionaires systematically drown out the voices of ordinary citizens.
Reference List:
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010)
McConnell v. Federal Election Commission, 540 U.S. 93 (2003)
OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, 1990–2024"
Brennan Center for Justice, "Citizens United Explained" (2020)
DISCLOSE Act, S. 3628 (111th), S. 3369 (112th), S. 2515 (113th), H.R. 1 (116th)