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This definitely used to be the case, but since Citizens United those donations have absolutely exploded, and combine that with the gerrymandering of districts i

• akira2501 2y ago
  > but since Citizens United those donations have absolutely exploded That case has implications respecting third party advertising but it has no bearing on direct campaign contributions to candidates. > combine that with the gerrymandering of districts into very safe districts The purpose of this gerrymandering is to reduce the total voter turnout. Most senators get elected with less than half the voting population turning out, many as little as 25%. Which means currently only 1/8 of your population needs to vote for you to win. It's really a vulnerability they've created for themselves, but you have to have the confidence to run as a third party candidate in order to take advantage of this. This is a uniparty game that strengthens the false dichotomy and not really material for our purposes here. > public pressure might no longer be sufficient to sway those politicians, the jury is still out on that. Is there a case where significant public pressure has failed? Saying "voters want action on climate change" is meaningless. Of course they do. Who actually _wants_ to ruin the planet or destroy their health? Nobody. How do we do this? Which metrics do we use? Who is responsible for implementation? What impacts will this have on average citizens? These are the questions that need answering, and unfortunately, there's too much actual division on these issues to foment a clear _federal_ plan forward let alone anything that would be effective or enforced world wide.
  • gman83 2y ago
    > That case has implications respecting third party advertising but it has no bearing on direct campaign contributions to candidates. It's by now become rather clear that both parties have found loopholes to get around the so called firewall between the campaigns and these third parties: https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2023/08/super-pacs-raise-millions-concerns-illegal-campaign-coordination-raise-questions/ https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2023/08/super-pacs-raise-mi... > Is there a case where significant public pressure has failed? I guess the best example would be campaign finance reform itself. That's an issue Democrats and Republicans actually agree on: https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/09/19/money-power-and-the-influence-of-ordinary-people-in-american-politics/ https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/09/19/money-power-...
• nradov 2y ago
  Most Americans do actually want action on climate change, but what action? More fission power plants? Subsidies for electric cars? A carbon tax? A cap and trade system? There's not much agreement on the specific actions, hence the legislative gridlock.