Identifying Political Donors

Troll account confirmed.

 

So you believe that politicians should be allowed to have campaign contributions from secret sources?

 

Im saying the person donating the money should have privacy.

There are two sides to the transaction

 

Well your vote is private. Donations shouldn't be. That's how backdoor quid pro quo bribes happen.

 

And it could be a reason a person loses a job or faces who knows what consequences

 

Yes one side is more likely to act out violently but both sides have acted violently.

Just because one side is more likely to do it does not mean it's ok to do this, especially a presidential candidate.

These are still private citizens who have the right to contribute how they please.

 

Well then you don't have to donate. Again, your vote should be confidential. But if you want to contribute to a campaign financially, the public has to know where all those funds come from so the public can determine if the politician has private interests and conflicts of interest.

 

We already have personal contribution limits for confict of interest reasons

 

They definitely have the right to contribute as they please. Doesn't mean that their donations should be confidential.

We as citizens have our say in our vote. We shouldn't influence policy from secret donations.

 

Well not when they become a PAC.

 

Well im talking individuals. The whole purpose of a PAC is to support a candidate

 

Large corporations and other money-rich groups could easily get around contribution limits by breaking up the amounts into smaller amounts. And without visibility into the donors no one would know.

 

That's not a legit counter to individuals being subject to being outed

 

They are not being outed if the information is publicly available. Which it is.

 

i never said there donations should be private.

I don't think that a presidential candidate and member of the house should be posting a list of his constituents who donated to a particular candidate or party.

It's a very divisive tactic furthering the us vs them mentality that I think is the central issue that negatively affect today's politics.

It's especially dangerous considering the heightened tensions since the shooting in Texas.

 

The vote is secret. I'm not a great lover of the idea that free speech requires anonymous speech. But I also think it could be reasonable to set a threshold where small donors can have privacy and donors who give so much they can actually move the political conversation should be identified. It seems like right now we have the opposite policy where Civilly Engaged Citizen who gives $1,000 has their name on a ledger and Power Broker with Connections to the Russian Mafia gets to hide behind a complicated Trust.

 

I think you need to stop worrying about Russians.

So you dont think votes should be secret?

 

I understand that. I don't think it should be public

I.doubt presidential candidates know their individual donors or are influenced by them. Thats the purpose of the limit

 

Not very Christian of you at all - Christ said to turn the other cheek.

DD

 

I’m a Christian but I model myself after the punisher