174

The public is being shown just enough to know the truth, and to understand that nothing is going to happen.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

Anti corruption PACs with tight and unvariable definitions of corrupt behaviour especially when it comes to money.

Small donation style like that Bernie Sanders campaign for some PACs, but others should allow billionaire whales. The key is to make the PACs impervious to outside influence on the key mission to only fund politicians demonstrating honesty and integrity.

Do multiple PACs, so theres no one point of failure. When an Honesty and Integrity PAC is corrupted, shut it down or exit it, taking the people with integrity with you. Leave the corrupted behind.

Do this for decades, make donors aware its a long term project and to build their donations into their yearly budgets. This will need communitarian bridge builders, something US people do very well when they're given the support to. Have yearly AGMs, promote them and make them easy to access, and easy for donors to ask questions of the PAC, a bit like Superannuation industry funds are supposed to do 'on paper' in Australia.

Finally there might be enough patriotic Americans in positions of power again that they start looking after the country and not oligarchs, and hey, maybe stop undermining every flower of hope that sprouts in the rest of the world to.


I think the role of money in US society needs to change. And i'd love to see US citizens decide, on their own terms, to demote its importance; rather than the hammer of poverty brought on by increasing wealth inequality forcing the demotion.

[-] MousePotatoDoesStuff@lemmy.world 2 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago)

That's a well thought out suggestion, at last at first glance. What step could Americans take today to get to that point?

[-] Gorgritch_umie_killa@aussie.zone 2 points 8 hours ago

I think the convening power of Billionaires is hard to ignore to get things started. The US is a country run very much for that class, so working within and alongside that system may be wise.

So, i'd organise a group, possibly using some organised people of the disaffected Virginia federal government lay-off group. ;) But ideally people who can navigate their way to set up the PACs whoever they may be.

Set out clear and importantly actionable definitions of corruption and corrupt behaviour and steps taken for different degrees of corruption and how its determined. Don't forget its not a court, its a PAC so 'balance of probabilities' when it comes to possibility of corruption may even be too high a standard, certainly 'beyond reasonable doubt' would hurt the viability of weeding out corruption, ie set the bar of corrupt behaviour for withdrawing funding low and tested against regularly.

Work on ensuring all public faces are about the positive side, so instead of the negative proposition 'we are anti-corruption', err on the side of the positive proposition 'we support integrity and honesty'. Avoid the doom and gloom messaging, people like to have a positive vision especially if they're going to be required to pay for, and/or sacrifice their time in doing.

Once the PACs, at least two separate structures, are set up, ready to launch reach out to the billionaire class. Three that come to mind would be Nick Hanauer (along with Civic Ventures), Mark Cuban (Dallas Mavericks), and Anthony Scarramucci (TRIPUS, Skybridge capital), these three have all demonstrated, publicly at least, the ability to understand what corrupt behaviour looks like and crucially its ethical implications, not saying any are perfect ethical creatures themselves, they don't have to be to understand and respect the concept of the PACs.

Bring that class in, use their 'star power', but don't allow them to invest in both PACs, one needs to be kept separate from oligarchs, maybe spokespeople for the other PAC can be well known and known to be honest figures in sport, or entertainment, and well known people in local areas.

Crucially it cant matter what side of politics the participants hail from, when PAC business is being discussed or acted on the only principles are honesty and integrity and the charter which sets those out, donors and volunteers pursuing other agendas are asked to continue that in other parts of their life.

It also needn't take a representative, senator, judge, sheriff etc to call the PAC, the assessment criteria can be run and then offered to elected representatives, with an explanation of why.

When it comes to candidates, thats when it can get harder, because donors will naturally try to stack in their own political appointees. I don't have an answer for that yet, because new candidates will need some sorting mechanism.

this post was submitted on 05 Feb 2026
174 points (97.8% liked)

Progressive Politics

3939 readers
1110 users here now

Welcome to Progressive Politics! A place for news updates and political discussion from a left perspective. Conservatives and centrists are welcome just try and keep it civil :)

(Sidebar still a work in progress post recommendations if you have them such as reading lists)

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS