Neighbor News
Who Is Taking Dark PAC Donations and Getting Richer In Congress? Now We Know.
Introducing: The IntegrityIndex.us
Each week, I speak with voters on wide-ranging topics from a variety of political stripes (Libertarians, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Green Partiers, Democratic Socialists and others), in grocery stores, airports, dog walks, online and at community events, across the country.
Something interesting has happened, voters have really started to expand the affordability conversation. Now, they cite the affordability crisis in combination with the corruption of both major parties, in nearly every conversation out of the gate.
As a result, I hear the following regularly: “Our top priority should be to get money out of politics!”
In fact, several voter registration groups and nonpartisan groups are indicating the same in their surveys, at levels they have never seen before.
Voters are done with the legal corruption of politicians receiving money from corporations, dark PACs and Bully PACs. Voters want to know which politicians are taking corporate PAC money and bully PAC financial support as well as who is trading stocks while in Congress, so they can avoid supporting or voting for those politicians. It is clear they feel these politicians are compromised and conflicted.
Find out what's happening in La Grangefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Voters come to me frequently asking 1. How do I find who “is taking corporate PAC money and Bully PAC money?” 2. Who “is getting richer from the stock market while they are in Congress?”
I used to answer with a long “how-to kit” of where and what to look for on FEC.gov, and Opensecrets.com for campaign donations as well as recommending visiting unusualwhales.com for stock trading info by members.
Introducing the Political Integrity Index!
Sometimes this can take a couple hours for voters to find the information they need.
Until now, when the folks at this new site, IntegrityIndex.us, collapsed all of that information into one easy tool! Hooray, one stop shopping with all of that information delivered immediately. Now, voters can know in an instant which politicians are conflicted.
Find out what's happening in La Grangefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Their mission at Integrity Index
“American politics has been consumed by legalized corruption. Every year, millions of dollars flow freely from companies, lobbyists, and billionaire donors directly to politicians’ pockets.”
“Our first product is the Integrity Index, a political finance database that grades politicians on their financial and political integrity. We reward politicians who stand for their constituents rather than the people who can pay them the most and shame those who take corporate PAC money, hold individual stocks, and raise most of their money from wealthy and out-of-state donors.”
It really is easy, simply go to https://integrityindex.us and place the member of Congress whom you are interested in the search bar and voila, you have their PAC and stock trading info all in one place.
Why This Site Is Important…
It cannot be said enough. The reason we do not have healthcare for all, guardrails for price-gouging, affordable drugs and climate change legislation is clear: 87% of Congress takes corporate PAC money.
The same goes for Congress folks who talk about peace, fairness and human rights being upheld, then, also take Bully PAC (AIPAC, Democratic Majority For Israel and Defense Contract PAC money) and go on to vote for ever increasing amounts of money in the Defense budget or support dropping bombs on innocent people.
I saw it directly before I was in professional politics, while I was in Congress and now it has gotten even worse.
Everyday in Congress, one can witness this in action in the most disappointing ways.
- Even some congresspeople who claim to be “climate hawks” take big money from Big Oil and as a result, do very little or nothing to address climate change
- A significant number of members of the House and Senate who get angry about the cost of drugs and healthcare, also take Big Pharma and Big Healthcare money and then, do not even do the bare minimum to reduce drug or healthcare costs
- Similarly, many members of Congress who sit on the financial services and energy & commerce committees are trading energy and financial stocks. Others who sit on healthcare subcommittees are trading healthcare stocks. These folks are getting richer and are clearly conflicted because of information shared in these meetings.
Voters are rightfully angry and calling it “legalized corruption.”
However, we are not powerless.
We can do something and it’s simple. Go to https://integrityindex.us and find out if your US House representatives and Senators are receiving dark money or trading stocks.
If they are conflicted, don’t support or vote for them.
It is that simple.
Moving forward, I will be sharing other voter resources and information regularly - stay tuned.
