The chart above (from PBS Newshour) shows the shocking results from recent Supreme Court decisions (particularly Citizens United vs. FEC, which ruled that outside groups can spend unlimited amount of money to influence elections in the United States).
2010 was the first off-year election to see a significant amount of outside money being spent. About $23 million was spent in the first quarter of that election year. That pales however to the amount that was spent in the first quarter of 2014 by outside groups -- about $56 million (more than twice as much as was spent in 2010). And this is well before most primaries have been held and the general election season has started. Some are predicting that over $500 million will be spent by outside groups in this election.
As the chart below shows, so far most of that outside money (about $32 million) has been spent in just six states -- North Carolina, Arkansas, Alaska, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Georgia. And twice as much has been spent to support Republicans as was spent to support Democrats.
I believe this is one of the biggest dangers facing our democracy, and it is quickly turning the democrat into a plutocracy (rule by the rich). We need to fix this -- even if it takes a constitutional amendment to do it.
