Billions in ‘dark money’ is influencing US politics. We need disclosure laws | David Sirota and Joel Warner
GuardianMAY 2022
Transparency is a pillar of democratic governance, and "dark money" goes directly against this. An unregulated campaign finance system allows rich businesses to manipulate the system and is as much of a threat to US democracy as coup plots, such as the Jan. 6 attack. Not passing the DISCLOSE Act is a blow to the country.
The DISCLOSE Act was a brazen violation of every American's right to free speech and would've created repercussions for organizations that simply wanted to participate in democracy. The bill — which defied significant Supreme Court precedent — was clearly an attempt to retaliate against speakers with "unfavorable" political ideas.