ECU’s grassroots members pushed campaign finance reform to the forefront in Supreme Court battle
Rules changed, concerns ignored, & millions spent to get Neil Gorsuch confirmed
Tiffany Muller, executive director of End Citizens United, released the following statement after the Senate voted to confirm Neil Gorsuch.
“Seventeen million dollars later, the corporate special interests have bought themselves a seat on the nation’s highest Court. This isn’t just an insult to our democracy, it puts Neil Gorsuch’s judicial impartiality at risk.
“Throughout the nomination process, End Citizens United’s grassroots members vigorously pressed their senators to oppose Gorsuch and made his record on money in politics a central issue. Thanks to the grassroots efforts, this was the first time campaign finance was at the forefront of a Supreme Court confirmation debate, and because of it, Republicans failed to get the 60 votes to confirm him. Instead of changing the nominee, they changed the rules.
“The overwhelming majority of Americans – Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike – agree that there’s too much money in politics, and it’s corroding our democracy. But those concerns fell on Mitch McConnell’s deaf ears as he pushed through a extreme nominee. Judge Gorsuch has ruled that corporations are people. He will allow corporate interests and mega-donors to continue to flood our elections with unlimited and untraceable money, giving them even more influence over our government. As a Supreme Court justice, Gorsuch will safeguard the Citizens United tradition of selling our government to the highest bidder, and he’ll continue to put corporations before everyday American families.
“With all three branches of government hostile to campaign finance reforms, our members will fight even harder to hold them accountable. The grassroots energy to take on the rigged system continues to grow and we’ll continue to take on the entrenched interests in Washington. It’s people – not corporations – who will head to the polls in 2018. We will restore the power in our democracy to everyday Americans.”
###