A Democratic National Committee member is proposing a symbolic resolution for consideration at a DNC meeting next month to reject the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s massive spending on Congressional races.
The measure, sponsored by a young DNC member from Florida, could put party leaders on the spot about the pro-Israel lobbying group’s outsized role in Democratic primaries.
A lobbying behemoth that for decades courted lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, AIPAC has become an increasingly toxic brand in the Democratic Party.
In recent years, Israeli leaders and their backers in Washington have become more closely aligned with Republican politicians. At the same time, however, AIPAC’s super PAC has focused tens of millions in spending on Democratic primary races.
This is a giant waste of time.
A) Restricting AIPAC just means capital and influence will flow from other, more obscure sources. It’s squeezing a closed tube of toothpaste.
B) PACs should be illegal, full stop. So long as PACs exist, capital will continue to flow into our politics. And as the cost burden of jumping through regulatory hoops and sidestepping ridiculous half-measures like this one is trivial for large donors, PACs disproportionally benefit highly-funded causes as opposed to those powered by small donations.
No half measures. Make PACs illegal.
Yep. If we can’t wave a magic wand and fully solve all problems instantly we should just do nothing.
Fuck Lemmy.
Ah, but this might be a step in that direction.
After all, what politician receiving AIPAC funding is going to vote to make PACs illegal?
Take that nectar away, and what’s stopping them?
Campaign Finance Reform is the issue from which ALL other issues flow. We need to take all money out of politics, make all political contributions illegal. Campaigns should receive basic Federal funding, with strict regulations on campaign speech. Those who violate those regulations will find themselves ejected from the race, and prohibited from running in the future.
This style of campaign will filter for those who are most qualified, instead of filtering OUT the best, in favor of clowns. Candidates like Trump wouldn’t stand a chance.
I’d be fine if we took it further and didn’t allow campaigns at all. Voters get to see your platform and voting history, and that’s all. Removes the popularity contest bullshit.
Kind of like judges. In most places, they can’t really campaign, but that only means that deals get arranged quietly, so it actually leads to more corruption.
Back in the early 90s, when Ross Perot was running for president, his best idea was to strongly regulate presidential campaigns. They couldn’t be longer than 90 days, and they would be funded equally by the Federal government. The 2 year presidential campaign costs a fortune, so only those with the money and/or connections can run, leading to corrupt political deals to generate enough money. Perot wanted the primary value to be in the vote, not the campaign contribution. With out campaign contributions, the candidate is forced to pursue the only other thing of value - a citizen’s vote, and everybody only has one, so we are all of equal value.
But the gEnOsiiiiiiiDE!!1! /s
Just saying, screaming lefties won’t scream if it doesn’t say Zionism on the tin. So - sure, use the undemocratic tools provided by the fascist courts. Dog forbid anyone dig further than one layer into an issue.
Maybe if democrats credibly supported anything else, you wouldn’t have to be so dismissive of the anti-genocide left.