The Virginia Justice Democrats believe that wealthy donors and corporate money have unduly influenced political decision-making in Virginia, as it has in other states and at the federal level. This issue is core to our mission of electing Democrats who stand for justice and represent the people over the powerful. Hence, we intend to rigorously research and regularly share what we learn about the flow of money from corporations, their senior executives, and political action committees (PACs) to elected officials. Think of the VA JDs as watchdogs, or perhaps bloodhounds, when it comes to following the money trails and shining a bright light on ethical blind spots.
Writes the Brennan Center, a respected non-partisan policy institute, “Disproportionate attention is lavished on large donors – whose contributions often remain secret. This misalignment has consequences all down the line, from the legislation our politicians advance, to the candidates who can join races.” See the Brennan Center’s Money in Politics Toolkit for remedies.
The corrupting influence of big money and lack of ethics guardrails in the Commonwealth are tied together like a knot. The Coalition for Integrity’s 2018 S.W.A.M.P. Index ranks Virginia 43rd out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia for its lax ethics laws and regulations governing ethics and transparency in the executive and legislative branches. Other studies in 2012 and 2015 by the Center for Public Integrity gave Virginia an “F” grade for being one of nine states with no statewide ethics commission, one of four states with no campaign finance limits and one of only two states (South Carolina is the other) where the part-time legislators handpick the judges before whom many of them practice law.
A New Virginia Way
The “Virginia Way,” in our view, is as much about influence peddling and protecting incumbency as any nebulous tradition of manners or consensus building. We can do better. We need to pursue a New Virginia Way, one that honors the passion and commitment of regular grassroots folks powering the Blue Wave, which is not about electing Democrats at any cost, but improving our state’s democracy.
Is it ok that corporations like Dominion Energy and firms that profit from private prisons and migrant detention centers such as MVM Inc. get special access to our elected officials? Should their political contributions be “laundered” by being bundled with other PAC money or transferred between elected officials so that Dems can take advantage of the money without being pinned to it? We think not.
PAC Responsibly Project
We know that it takes money to run campaigns, particularly in this post-Citizens United era. PAC contributions are necessary until such time as we have publicly funded elections. There are some important PACs helping elect Democrats in Virginia. We don’t want their reputations or money pool to be tainted by a short list of corporations whose motives are certainly questionable.
So stay tuned, as we work on our research and resources.