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Warren accelerates ’20 Democrats campaign finance disarmament

Elizabeth Warren says she's no longer going to do fundraising the old-fashioned way – with a ceaseless cycle of receptions and dinners punctuated by telephone solicitations.

"My presidential primary campaign will be run on the principle of equal access for anybody who joins it," the Massachusetts senator said in a message to supporters of her campaign, promising that she won't sell any sort of additional access – not even a grip-and-grin photograph – based on the generosity of a donor.


"No fancy receptions or big money fundraisers only with people who can write the big checks. And when I thank the people giving to my campaign, it will not be based on the size of their donation. It means that wealthy donors won't be able to purchase better seats or one-on-one time with me at our events. And it means I won't be doing 'call time,' which is when candidates take hours to call wealthy donors to ask for their support."

Her decision is an attempt to up the rectitude ante in a campaign finance disarmament race with her rivals for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, most of whom have already promised to eschew donations from corporate political action committees. It also means she's doubling down on a reliance on small-donor donations that has characterized the field so far – a tactic in which she's so far lagged behind several others including her principal rival among the unambiguously progressive aspirants: Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who took in $6 million in small gifts in the first day after announcing his candidacy.

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Senator Maggie Hassan Tops National Rankings for Cross-Party Work

Lori Chavez-DeRemer, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Labor Department, greets Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) as she arrives for her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on February 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Getty Images, Chip Somodevilla

Senator Maggie Hassan Tops National Rankings for Cross-Party Work

Senator Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) is the most bipartisan member of Congress per the rankings of multiple organizations.

According to the Pew Research Center, 61 percent of Americans in 2023 stated that having political conversations with those who have different political beliefs are “stressful” and “frustrating,” a 10 percent increase from 2016. But Sen. Hassan said the best way she finds common ground with her colleagues, regardless of political affiliation, is to discuss what they are hearing from their constituents since she finds Americans across the country are experiencing many problems.

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Congress Bill Spotlight: Congress Meeting in Philadelphia on Declaration of Independence 250th Anniversary

New legislation would convene Congress at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, the site of the Declaration of Independence’s signing on July 4, 1776, for the 250th anniversary on July 2, 2026.

Getty Images, Douglas Rissing

Congress Bill Spotlight: Congress Meeting in Philadelphia on Declaration of Independence 250th Anniversary

Hopefully, Nicolas Cage wouldn’t steal it this time, like he did in 2004’s implausible adventure movie National Treasure.

What the bill does

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Entertainment Can Improve How Democrats and Republicans See Each Other

Since the development of American mass media culture in the mid-20th century, numerous examples of entertainment media have tried to improve attitudes towards those who have traditionally held little power.

Getty Images, skynesher

Entertainment Can Improve How Democrats and Republicans See Each Other

Entertainment has been used for decades to improve attitudes toward other groups, both in the U.S. and abroad. One can think of movies like Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, helping change attitudes toward Black Americans, or TV shows like Rosanne, helping humanize the White working class. Efforts internationally show that media can sometimes improve attitudes toward two groups concurrently.

Substantial research shows that Americans now hold overly negative views of those across the political spectrum. Let's now learn from decades of experience using entertainment to improve attitudes of those in other groups—but also from counter-examples that have reinforced stereotypes and whose techniques should generally be avoided—in order to improve attitudes toward fellow Americans across politics. This entertainment can allow Americans across the political spectrum to have more accurate views of each other while realizing that successful cross-ideological friendships and collaborations are possible.

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