Before the Supreme Court issued its decision in Citizens United ten years ago, Congress had set reasonable limits on individuals’ ability to influence federal elections through campaign contributions, the product of a historic, bipartisan compromise led by Senators John McCain and Russ Feingold.  Over the past decade, however, the Citizens United ruling has upended federal elections by allowing unlimited and undisclosed donations to organizations seeking to sway voters’ views on candidates and causes, often through misinformation.

Any American knows that a trial without hearing from key witnesses and seeing critical evidence is a sham. Sen. McConnell’s efforts to turn the impeachment trial into a kangaroo court for a hurried acquittal run counter to our Constitution and the oath senators swore on Thursday to ‘do impartial justice.’

As we observe the first Martin Luther King Day of a new decade, let us look to Dr. King’s teachings and legacy of moral courage for inspiration as we seek to turn the page from a time of division into one of greater unity, respect, and love of neighbor.  Dr. King asked his fellow Americans to harness what he called the ‘drum major instinct’ – that we should rein in that basic human urge for attention, which too often leads us to seek it in the wrong ways, and apply it instead toward gaining attention for our good works, public service, and acts of love and kindness. 

Economy Weekly: Week of January 13, 2020

This week, the House voted on a resolution to transmit articles of impeachment to the Senate and name House impeachment managers who will present the case against the President. As the trial in the Senate gets underway,  I am urging every senator to honor the oath they took to “do impartial justice.