In April 2023, Alexia Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the House Progressive Caucus, and Matt Gaetz, a Trump loyalist, unexpectedly introduced the Bipartisan Restoring Faith in Government Act. The new legislation would restrict members of Congress and their spouses from directly investing in stocks, bonds, or commodities, largely in response to the lackluster enforcement of the similar STOCK Act of 2012. But with limited support from sitting members of Congress, the bill has yet to progress through the legislature. I don’t think the window of opportunity has closed yet.
The popular frustration with Congress is that deep polarization seems to prevent much progress or compromise at all — everything is a political ploy, from the border-security bill failure to the budget crisis that almost shut down the government. Proposed legislation often serves political parties instead of members’ constituencies, leading to broad ideological division that is disconnected from actual policy. Currently, it’s hard for American voters to agree on any policy solutions, and often, we don’t even agree on what our policies should address. Now, on the dawn of another presidential election, our representatives have the chance to seriously address political corruption, a topic that appeals to almost every American. But officials won’t take action to pass an anti-corruption bill without public pressure.
There are several specific issues that fall under political corruption, but the most significant include campaign finance, insider trading and political action committees/lobbying groups. Most Americans agree that money corrupts US politics. 85% claim that the cost of campaigns makes it hard for good people to hold office, and 84% agree that special interest groups and lobbyists have too much influence over policy implementation. Political leaders like Nancy Pelosi, who make millions from our lax trading and lobbying laws, have a personal stake in maintaining the status quo. Decorruption initiatives present an opportunity for all Americans to unite behind a common goal, but it requires organization outside of the party system. And if Americans lose their power to collectively organize against injustice in the national government, we’ve sacrificed our democracy to the two-party powerhouse.
Organizations like RepresentUS are leading nonpartisan efforts against corruption from the bottom up. Beginning with local and state governments, they push for restrictions on campaign finance and special interest groups and expanding voting rights in order to create genuine relationships between constituents and their representatives. They’ve seen success in several local and state resolutions, especially those that advocate for ranked choice voting and expanded ballot access. These victories aren’t yet numerous enough to force issues into Congress, but with more popular support and coverage, they could expand their impact.
This legislative work is essential to national decorruption, but if no party adopts these proposals into their national agenda, Americans have to take a more active role in demanding change. In this role, voters have to look beyond centralized party agendas and start pressuring their local representatives to act.
The first step is participation in non-major elections. So far in 2024, 75% of elections throughout all levels of government have been run uncontested. Citizens must use local elections as a catalyst for large-scale change, and putting decorruption on the ballot would mobilize constituencies at local and state levels. Demands of numerous local districts and cities have historically preceded eventual national-scale change. For example, the gay marriage movement saw victories on the state and municipal level before gaining enough momentum to push the issue on a national stage. The beginning phases of this bottom-up approach are the most challenging, but in order for the movement to progress, citizens have to overcome political apathy.
On a national scale, we need participation in congressional primaries. In 2022, every incumbent senator won reelection, and 94% of House incumbents returned to their seats despite widespread Congressional disapproval. The nature of US elections discourages districts and states from ousting incumbents in primary elections; when the focus is keeping the opposition out of office, voters become concerned with who can win instead of who will best represent their interests. These strategized elections put a gap between constituents and their representatives, wherein officials have to pander to a general national party platform instead of advocating for their regional interests, enabling congressmen to overlook the actual demands of their districts. Voters can overcome this partisan effect (and force representatives to consider public opinion) if they support primary challenges to sitting officials. The strongest representative should be the one that reflects the interests of a voting population, not the one with the most support from the establishment.
The ability to create institutional change remains available to many Americans, despite how disconnected American politics can feel from our everyday lives. Political parties present viable paths to implementing legislation, but they cannot be the only sources of organized action. Until Americans mobilize under a national movement to fight corruption, bills to challenge it will collect dust in AOC and Matt Gaetz’s desks. Decorruption is our opportunity to not only prove the power of an engaged democracy, but to improve it for every American.
CJ Lair ’28 can be reached at craig_lair@brown.edu. Please send responses to this column to letters@browndailyherald.com and other opinions to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
