Skip to content
Project 2025
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories
Donald Trump’s Epstein Mess Keeps Getting Worse

Donald Trump’s Epstein Mess Keeps Getting Worse

Hardliners vs. Loyalists: Republicans Divide Over Mamdani Moment

Hardliners vs. Loyalists: Republicans Divide Over Mamdani Moment

Pete Hegseth walking in a congressional hallway

The War against DEI Is Gonna Kill Us

An abstract grid wall of shipping containers, unevenly arranged with some jutting out, all decorated in the colors and patterns of the USA flag. A prominent percentage sign overlays the grid.

Tariffs on Trial: The Supreme Court’s Hidden Battle for Balance

What the Success Academy Scandal Says About the Charter School Model

What the Success Academy Scandal Says About the Charter School Model

Just four money-in-politics reforms remain in Democracy Madness

basketball and democracy
enjoynz/Getty Images
The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumMay 11, 2020
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
See More Writings by author

The two top-seeded proposals for reforming the campaign finance system cruised to victory over the weekend, setting up some pretty predictable match-ups in our Money in Politics "regional" Final Four.

Repealing the Supreme Court's 2013 Citizens United decision (No. 1) blew away the idea of giving taxpayers vouchers for donating to political candidates (No. 9). Similarly, the No. 2 seed, requiring public disclosures to shed light on so-called dark money donations, mopped the floor with the 10th seed, curbing campaign donations by lobbyists.

There was one tiny upset: Proposals for stopping the "revolving door" between public service and the money-making world (No. 5) slid past the idea of making more influence-peddlers register as lobbyists (No. 4).

Voting is open through Tuesday so you can set up the final in this region.

Click the Vote Now button to make your two selections. (You can click the matchups, then each label, for more about the proposals.)



Latest news

When the Data Disappears, A Country Is Left in the Dark
Governance & Legislation

When the Data Disappears, A Country Is Left in the Dark

From Bob Dylan to Kendrick Lamar: How Protest Music Still Shapes America in 2025
Pop Culture

From Bob Dylan to Kendrick Lamar: How Protest Music Still Shapes America in 2025

How the Trump Administration Abandoned Plans for a Major Cut in Disability Benefits for Older Workers
Health

How the Trump Administration Abandoned Plans for a Major Cut in Disability Benefits for Older Workers

Read More

Presidents can no longer be trusted with pardons

Rioters breach Capitol security Jan. 6

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Presidents can no longer be trusted with pardons

Ours is a system of “checks and balances.”

The president can do this or that, but the courts and Congress can put a stop to it (depending on the circumstances and relevant rules). When the courts rule that the executive branch can’t do something, Congress can write a new law saying the president can do it. When Congress passes a law the president doesn’t like, the president can veto it. Congress, if it has enough votes, can override the veto. And so on. The whole idea is to deny any one branch or person too much concentrated power.

Keep ReadingShow less
Presidents can no longer be trusted with pardons

Rioters breach Capitol security Jan. 6

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Presidents can no longer be trusted with pardons

Ours is a system of “checks and balances.”

The president can do this or that, but the courts and Congress can put a stop to it (depending on the circumstances and relevant rules). When the courts rule that the executive branch can’t do something, Congress can write a new law saying the president can do it. When Congress passes a law the president doesn’t like, the president can veto it. Congress, if it has enough votes, can override the veto. And so on. The whole idea is to deny any one branch or person too much concentrated power.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump vs. Marjorie Taylor Green?! Here's What MAGA Really Means
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images

Donald Trump vs. Marjorie Taylor Green?! Here's What MAGA Really Means

In an interview on Fox News, President Trump affirmed his support for H-1B visas. He argued that because the US lacks enough talented people, we “have to bring this talent” from abroad. His words sparked outrage among conservatives.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of Trump’s staunchest loyalists, pushed back against Trump’s narrative. Greene praised US-Americans as “the most talented people in the world.” She even introduced legislation aimed at ending “the mass replacement of American workers” by the H-1B visa program.

Keep ReadingShow less
Cryptocurrency: Debunking Myths, Understanding Realities, and Exploring Economic and Social Impacts
a pile of gold and silver bitcoins
Photo by Traxer on Unsplash

Cryptocurrency: Debunking Myths, Understanding Realities, and Exploring Economic and Social Impacts

“In 2020 and 2021, there was a big crypto bubble. You couldn’t turn a corner without seeing another celebrity crypto endorsement," said Mark Hays, the Associate Director for Cryptocurrency and Financial Technology with AFR/AFREF and with Demand Progress during the NFRPP’s October 25th, 2025, panel discussion. Hilary J. Allen, a Professor of Law at the American University Washington College of Law, joined Hays. The discussion was moderated by Peter Coy, a freelance journalist covering economics, business, and finance.

Celebrities like Kevin Hart, Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna, Justin Bieber, Serena Williams, Paris Hilton, and Snoop Dogg jumped to endorse crypto-related companies. The record of these endorsements has been poor (Bloomberg), and some are calling for people who endorse these products without doing due diligence to face legal repercussions (Boston College Law Review). The message from the NFRPP’s panel discussion was one of intense skepticism towards cryptocurrencies in general, with Professor Allen going so far as to call them a “failure as a technology.”

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2025