More Proof Why We Need To Get Big Money Out of Politics

What did the most expensive midterm election in history buy? A staggering number of ugly and extremely negative attack ads.

Instead of discussing the issues and policies that could shape the direction of our country, big business and wealthy individuals used their checkbooks to encourage mudslinging. This $4 billion election is just more evidence why we need to get big money out of our politics.

Americans want a real debate. Unfortunately the majority is being drowned out by the minority. A handful of people, corporations and organizations wield an outsized influence over our political process. The New York Times discovered more than half of the ads aired by outside groups this cycle came from organizations that don't disclose their donors. And a new Public Citizen report found that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce was the largest overall spender in the 2014 elections among secret money groups.

Thanks to the Supreme Court's Citizens United and McCutcheon decisions, which have completely warped our political process, it's expected that the 2016 elections will cost in the double-digit billions of dollars. But we can put a stop to this corrupting escalation of campaign spending.

We need the Democracy for All amendment, which empowers Congress and the states to regulate campaign spending, and the DISCLOSE Act. With allies like the Democracy Initiative, activists around the country won't stop pushing for campaign finance reform. We saw what happened during the midterm elections and we vow not to let it continue to spiral out of control.