Larry A. Bates
Professor Jason Rachal
English 101 6 May 2015
Get Money out of Politics Money dominates nearly every aspect of civilized society. The influence is has in politics could mean the difference between a family having food to eat, or passing legislation. It is the grease that greases the political machine. Thanks to modern technology, a candidate must raise a lot of money to be competitive in their campaign. Most of that funding goes to television, internet, and radio advertising which can decide the result of an election. Though money is crucial for a politician’s ability to get their message out to as many voters as possible, it has many unintended consequences. Candidates must pander to potential donors to get their…show more content… Though FECA was meant to reduce the influence of donations from corporations and special interest groups, spending on campaigns has increased. Former FEC commissioner Bradley Smith states, “Congressional election contributions by political action committees (PACs) increased from $20,500,000 in 1976 to $189,000,000 in 1994” (Smith 3). Since FECA was enacted, those who claim the legislation is unconstitutional have been attacking its purpose. On Citizen’s United vs. FEC the Supreme Court ruled “prohibition on corporate independent expenditures is an outright ban on speech” (para. 9). The ruling claimed that money equaled free speech. It gives the wealthy and special interest groups a too much influence over Congress. The rich and special interest groups should not have a louder voice than the average citizen. When it comes to legislation, money has more influence in whether bills pass than public opinion. Elected officials are more likely to vote in favor of what their donors want over what the public want. The Koch Brothers are planning to spend almost $900 million on the upcoming elections (New York Times. 1). Such an amount is nearly more than both parties have raised combined. The 2016 presidential election is looking like it is going to be the most expensive in history (NYT. 1). Two people should not have power to sway elections. An article by Jocelyn Benson of Wayne state university law school says “Ensuring that private interests could not seize control of the