March 1, 2003

Finance Reform’s Flame-Out

Reformers hoped that the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law would be the first step in kicking big money out of politics. Instead, big money politics kicked the life out of McCain-Feingold.

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A Fox in the Electoral Henhouse?
By Micah L. Sifry
Apr. 15, 2002
With the appointment of former GOP lawyer Michael Toner to the Federal Election Commission, President Bush did more than simply insult the champions of reform.

Campaign Inflation
By Eric Bates
March 5, 2001
Industry pumped in a record 696 million dollars to elect George W. Bush and a GOP Congress. The Mother Jones 400 reveals the nation’s top contributors — and what they expect in return.

Padlock the Revolving Door!
By Ted Rall
May 19, 2000
Campaign finance reform isn’t nearly enough. To really get the influence of money out of politics, we need to keep ex-politicians out of corporate boardrooms.

No Small Change
By William Saletan
January/February, 1999 Issue
Reformers are overly optimistic about ridding politics of Big Money.

DEMOCRACY DOES NOT EXIST...

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DEMOCRACY DOES NOT EXIST...

without free and fair elections, a vigorous free press, and engaged citizens to reclaim power from those who abuse it.

In this election year unlike any other—against a backdrop of a pandemic, an economic crisis, racial reckoning, and so much daily bluster—Mother Jones' journalism is driven by one simple question: Will America move closer to, or further from, justice and equity in the years to come?

If you're able to, please join us in this mission with a donation today. Our reporting right now is focused on voting rights and election security, corruption, disinformation, racial and gender equity, and the climate crisis. We can’t do it without the support of readers like you, and we need to give it everything we've got between now and November. Thank you.

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