Durbin: “Citizens United was mindless. To say that a business has the same rights as an individual under the Constitution is mindless.”
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined his Senate Democratic colleagues in marking the sixteenth anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. FEC decision, which opened the floodgates for dark money in our politics.
Durbin began by reflecting on the campaign finance landscape during his first Congressional run in 1982.
“In 1982, I decided to run for the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time… I had a chance. And '82 was a big year for Democrats. I still remember my fear. Would I raise enough money to be a viable candidate? Nobody knew for sure. The average cost for a Congressional campaign in 1982 was $215,000. I raised and spent, as did my opponent, $800,000 each. We set records. Today, would you start off and wage a campaign for $800,000? You would say, ‘well, that's just for the announcement, right? You're going to need a few more dollars if you're serious about being a candidate.’ The number has grown dramatically and is now in the millions for candidates for the House and the Senate,” said Durbin.
“Under the current system that's described by my colleagues on the floor, there is so much entrenched money that they virtually control the agenda and scare the living hell out of average individuals who don't have a fortune to spend. And that's the reality of what we face,” continued Durbin.
Durbin then elaborated on how money in politics has real-world consequences, highlighting how unlimited corporate and billionaire spending on issues like cryptocurrency has warped priorities in Washington.
“We now have currently a debate going on on the floor about cryptocurrency. Remember what happened in the last campaign about cryptocurrency? The industry decided that they would pick out one or two Democrats and make a point that they were on the wrong position when it came to cryptocurrency. So, they spent $40 million to defeat one of our colleagues here in the Senate. And they succeeded,” explained Durbin.
Durbin then admonished the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United and underscored the need to restore accountability and transparency so democracy answers to voters—not special interests.
“Citizens United was mindless. To say that a business has the same rights as an individual under the Constitution is a mindless conclusion… I think ethical reform that's meaningful requires a scandal that's earth-shattering. I'm not sure what's left by way of scandal. What’s going on with corruption in this business has become almost routine. I'm sorry to say that… because so many on both sides of the aisle are good, honest people who are public servants trying to do their best. But this Citizens United decision and where we are in politics today has changed this business so much that I'm not sure we can reclaim the idealism that we aspire to be public servants in this institution,” said Durbin.
“There's a lot of work to be done. I may not be around for some of it, but I will remember that the $800,000 when I first ran was a record. Now it's rather routine,” concluded Durbin.
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.
Durbin has long supported overturning Citizens United and passing campaign finance reform legislation. Last year, he joined the reintroduction of the Democracy for All Amendment, which would overturn Citizens United and far-reaching decisions around campaign finance that wrongfully equated money with free speech and unfairly determined that big, wealthy corporations have the same First Amendment rights as people.
Additionally, Durbin was a strong supporter of the For the People Act—a sweeping package of comprehensive reforms that would end special interest corruption of our politics and make government work for the people. The landmark legislation passed the House of Representatives in 2021 when it was under a Democratic majority, but failed to receive the 60 votes necessary in the Senate in June 2021 due to Republican opposition.
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