(ThyBlackMan.com) End Citizens United (ECU) is an organization dedicated to reversing the 2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. The infamous decision allowed the passing of a bill that erased limits on how much money corporations and other groups can donate to political candidates. The reason for the controversy surrounding this decision is that campaign funding is known to play a role in the outcomes of political elections. The Supreme Court’s decision essentially allows corporations and wealthy individuals to have disproportionate influence over the American political system. End Citizens United believes that the interests of these groups are not aligned with those of the American public, so it was founded to get “big money” out of politics.
Originally founded in 2015, ECU is led by president and executive director Tiffany Mullen. It is located in Washington, D.C, where it is perfectly positioned to take head on what it considers to be a rigged political system. In just a short while, the organization has gained widespread support. According to a Bloomberg poll, 78% of Americans agree that the Citizens United decision should be overturned.
In December of 2017, ECU declared its focus for 2018: the “Big Money 20”. Big Money 20 refers to a list of twenty Republican senators and representatives that have placed the demands of special interest groups and wealthy donors over the needs of the American people. The list of 20 includes:
House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas
Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada
Rep. Mike Bishop of Michigan
Rep. Rod Blum of Iowa
Rep. Mike Bost of Illinois
Rep. Mike Coffman of Colorado
Rep. Ryan Costello of Pennsylvania
Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen of New Jersey
Rep. Duncan Hunter of California
Rep. Will Hurd of Texas
Rep. Darrell Issa of California
Rep. Tom MacArthur of New Jersey
Rep Pat Meehan of Pennsylvania
Rep. Erik Paulsen of Minnesota
Rep. Rob Pittenger of North Carolina
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California
Rep. Peter Roskam of Illinois
Rep. Claudia Tenney of New York
Rep. Mimi Walters of California
ECU’s goal is to help defeat these Republicans in the 2018 midterm elections. It plans to spend $35 million on this effort, up from the $25 million it spent in the 2016 election cycle.
ECU is not stopping there, however. The organization has rolled out numerous endorsements for the 2018 midterms. These include:
1) Beto O’Rourke, a challenger in Texas’s 16th Congressional District to incumbent Republican Senator Ted Cruz.
2) Randy Bryce, a U.S. Army veteran, cancer survivor, ironworker, and potential successor to Republican Speaker Paul Ryan in Wisconsin’s 1st District.
3) Elizabeth Warren, a very popular and outspoken Senator from Massachusetts.
4) Nancy Pelosi, former Democratic Speaker of the House and outspoken critic of Citizens United.
5) Tulsi Gabbard, Senator from Hawaii’s 2nd District, army veteran, and first Hindu member of Congress.
For a full list of ECU endorsed candidates, visit http://endcitizensunited.org/endorsed-candidates/
End Citizens United has proven successful in fundraising for its cause of evening the playing field in American politics. Look for ECU to play a significant role in this year’s elections, and if the positive trend in fundraising continues, it will likely be even more influential in 2020.
Staff Writer; Doug Poole
