Politicians don't need the people anymore

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Perhaps the most important and least noted change in American politics was the 2010 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court known as Citizens United. Simply, it opened the floodgates to full corporate financial participation in our electoral system. And as corporate financing increased so too did its power while the reliance on the average voter decreased.

The highly respected Pew Research Center recently issued a report on the trust that Americans have in their government and found that just 15% believe their government will do what is right "most of the time."

As inconvenient as that truth may be, it strikes at the very heart of democracy which rests on confidence in our elected government.

Here in Minnesota, this shift has been dramatic. When we were coming into the political system, participation was open and the costs of running for a legislative seat were reasonable: roughly in the $5,000 to $6,000 range and the bulk of that funding came from neighborhood gatherings, door to door solicitations, and special fundraisers featuring a more prominent political figure. The DFL relied on community "bean feeds" while Republicans had their more elaborate $100 per plate dinner that was centered around the appearance of a major national leader.

That was our brand of democracy and it worked. Public office was within reach of those who sought to run and campaign funding depended on personal interaction with the candidate. There was a mutual dependency.

But attached to this funding was a price: selling influence over public policy to the wealthy donors. Yes, it is totally corrupt and illegal. However, if the governor supports it while the attorney general turns a blind eye and the media is silent, then who is protecting the people?

Now clearly, the national debate over the "Big Lie" and the Jan. 6 attempt to overturn our democracy are central factors in this growing distrust of government. However, what is happening in Minnesota is contributing to this erosion.

For instance, in May 2021, the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota released a study on the influence of moneyed interests at the Legislature and concluded that not only were the wealthy contributors granted special treatment but they were also accorded the opportunity to "shape" legislation.

The only thing of value that a legislature possesses is the creation and management of public policy and here we have our esteemed university issuing a study clearly stating that our state government is betraying the public trust. What is being done? Absolutely nothing. There have been no investigations, no legislative hearings and silence from the media.

This indifference to corruption was further reinforced by the decision last August of the Minnesota Supreme Court lambasting the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for allowing certain employees to withhold vital data from the public in order to protect a foreign conglomerate. In essence, those employees betrayed the public trust. However, again there was no investigation, no public hearings, no accountability.

Perhaps the key question is: Who gave those employees the order to violate the law? Was it the commissioner or the governor who appoints the commissioner? Without any accountability, we will not know.

But what we do know is that all this adds up to a weakening of our democracy, a reduction of competition for public office, and a realization that our elected officials depend more and more on money and less and less on us.