Skip to content
Project 2025
Search

Latest Stories

Follow Us:
Top Stories
People walking down the steps of the U.S. capitol.

DNC's Proposed RCV Ban Sparks Debate Over 2028 Presidential Primaries

Protecting the Right to Play in an Age of GenAI

Protecting the Right to Play in an Age of GenAI

A Senior Man Using A Laptop Computer And Paying Bills With Nurse

Not All Change Is Good: Medicaid, Medicare Shifts Are Everyone’s Problem

Close-up hands of unrecognizable man holding and using smartphone standing on city street, browsing internet, checking social media, using mobile application.

ALS Doesn't Wait. Our Health Care System Still Does.

Francesca Hong Gains Momentum in Wisconsin Democratic Governor’s Race

Francesca Hong Gains Momentum in Wisconsin Democratic Governor’s Race

Long-shot constitutional amendment to restrict campaign financing introduced

The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumMay 09, 2019
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
See More Writings by author

The most ambitious proposal for curbing money in politics, an amendment to the Constitution, has resurfaced in Congress. Its short-term prospects are statistically zero.

Just nine Democratic House members signed on as sponsors Wednesday when Californian Adam Schiff formally proposed an amendment to permit Congress to regulate campaign finances notwithstanding the Supreme Court's landmark Citizens United decision saying donations are a form of highly protected First Amendment free speech.

Throughout the last Congress, only 19 Democrats agreed to co-sponsor the same proposal. And amending the Constitution requires two-thirds majorities in both the House and Senate (meaning plenty of Republican support, which is now non-existent) plus the approval of three quarters of the states.


Latest news

Gynecologist doing ultrasound of pregnant woman in hospital.
Health

No Doctor, No Delivery, No Future

A New Standard for Ethical Immigration Reporting
Media & Technology

A New Standard for Ethical Immigration Reporting

How Utah’s H.B. 222 Set the Stage for State-level Climate Liability Shields
Environment

How Utah’s H.B. 222 Set the Stage for State-level Climate Liability Shields

Read More

Person speaking in front of other people with a micrphone in their hand.

State Rep. James Talarico accused his U.S. Senate opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, of voter fraud after a ProPublica-Texas Tribune report. Last week, Paxton hit back with similar accusations.

Aiden Gonzalez/The Texas Tribune

James Talarico Accused Ken Paxton of Voter Fraud. His Own Voter Registration Is Raising Questions.

Texas state Rep. James Talarico voted in five elections using his parents’ address after purchasing a home for himself nearby, a practice that may have violated state voting laws, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found.

This comes weeks after Talarico accused Attorney General Ken Paxton, his opponent in the race for U.S. Senate, of voter fraud for similar actions. The news organizations reported in July that Paxton voted using an address where his estranged wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, said he hasn’t lived for two years.

Keep ReadingShow less
An Iranian flag and the message "No King" graffitied on the ruins of the data center building of Sharif University of Technology after a U.S.-Israeli missile strike on April 7, 2026 in Tehran, Iran.

How has the meaning of military victory changed? Explore Iran, deterrence, nuclear weapons, and why modern wars are fought with limited objectives.

Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images

The Last War We Understood

Every modern conflict seems to produce the same debate.

Supporters argue that military action achieved its objectives. Critics ask why the enemy still exists. Iran is only the latest example.

Keep ReadingShow less
How an 1876 Massacre of Black Men in South Carolina Turned Racial Terror Into Political Power

This statue on the grounds of the South Carolina State House honors violent segregationist Ben Tillman, who also served as governor and U.S. senator.

Jeffrey Collins/AP Photo

How an 1876 Massacre of Black Men in South Carolina Turned Racial Terror Into Political Power

As the U.S. celebrates its 250th anniversary, its citizens commemorate a democracy more diverse, free and inclusive than it’s ever been. The path to this milestone was imperfect and paved in blood and suffering. Still, few of the revelers will likely pay heed to the anniversary of another historic event: the 150th anniversary of the July 1876 Hamburg massacre.

The massacre, which took place in Hamburg, South Carolina, began as a dispute between a local Black militia and two white citizens over whether the latter could cross the group’s centennial Fourth of July parade. The militia leader, Doc Adams, was later charged with blocking a public highway.

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2026