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Gillibrand conjures up new kind of freebie: ‘Democracy dollars’ to be doled out, then fed back into political machine

May 2, 2019 | | Print Article
TROY, NY - JANUARY 16: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) takes questions from reporters after announcing she will run for president in 2020 outside the Country View Diner, January 16, 2019 in Troy, New York. Last night on The Late Show, Gillibrand told host Stephen Colbert that she has formed an exploratory committee for her White House run. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
(FILE PHOTO by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Money-loving Democrat presidential candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has devised a fundraising method that, if implemented, would basically involve the government giving citizens taxpayer funds so that they can turn around and funnel said funds into her otherwise empty pockets …

She calls the plan “Democracy Dollars.” Spicy!

According to the plan, which the New York senator outlined in a post for Medium on Tuesday, every eligible voter would be entitled to $200 in so-called “Democracy Dollars” per every major election — $200 for the House election, $200 for the Senate election and $200 for the presidential election.

Unironically designed “to get money out of politics,” the plan would allow candidates to opt-in to receive “Democracy Dollars” so long as they agree to cap individual cash donations at $200. That’s a $2,600 drop from the current $2,800 limit per primary election and per general election.

Despite the plan seemingly making very little sense, Gillibrand remains confident candidates would sign up in droves “because the potential of how much you could raise in this system is exponentially higher,” according to a statement she issued to NBC News.

That’s assuming the American people would be interested in wasting limited taxpayer money to fund the campaigns of candidates who could just as easily raise money without the government’s help.

So why are so-called “Democracy Dollars” needed? Because as it stands, most individual campaign donors are unforgivably “mostly wealthy, mostly white, mostly male individuals.”

And everybody knows how Democrats feel about those pesky white males!

Also problematic to the misandrist legislator is the influence of corporations and nonprofits.

“When the NRA wants to prevent gun reform, they funnel money into the campaigns of candidates nationwide to make sure they don’t vote for common sense gun reform,” her Medium piece reads.

“Insurance companies do the same to block Medicare for All and prevent us from guaranteeing health care as a right, not a privilege. The story is the same with polluters. And drug companies. And oil companies. The list goes on.”

While true, it’s unclear how her plan would change this.

What Gillibrand does know is how she intends to fund her “Democracy Dollars.”

“I would eliminate the loophole that makes taxpayers subsidize excessively high CEO compensation: CEOs making 25 times the median salary of their employees or more than $1 million, whichever is less. That change would raise over $60 billion in ten years,” her piece reads.

An estimated 138 million Americans voted in the 2016 presidential election alone. Had each been granted $600 in “Democracy Dollars,” the price tag would have been $82.8 billion.

Moreover, taxpayers aren’t subsidizing the salaries of CEOs, according to the 81-year-old Tax Foundation. Were Gillibrand’s plan implemented, however, taxpayers would be subsidizing the political campaigns of glaringly partisan legislators such as herself.

HERE’S WHAT YOU’RE MISSING …

She concludes her Medium post by asking Americans to sign a petition.

“Changing the way we fund elections and attacking political corruption is the only way to accomplish any of our boldest, most progressive policies and truly help working families,” it reads.

“The Green New Deal, Medicare for All, lowering prescription drug prices, common sense gun reform — accomplishing any of this depends on weakening the corrosive effect of money in politics. Join me in calling for clean elections in this country to return power to the people and take it out of the hands of wealthy special interests. Click here to add your name to my petition.”

What’s interesting is that the link to the alleged petition takes readers to her website. Furthermore, after the reader signs the petition (which in reality looks an awfully lot like a slick subscription sign-up form), the reader is asked to donate money to her campaign:

(Screenshot)

So to recap, she wants “to get money out of politics” by giving you taxpayer funds that you can then give her. And she wants you to help her implement this plan by giving her your money.

Brilliant …

Gillibrand’s campaign has reportedly suffered from “low … fundraising totals.” Could the proposal of such patently inane ideas perhaps be why? She reportedly doesn’t seem to think so.

As for everybody else, they appear to think that she and her ideas could use some, uh, improvement:

HERE’S WHAT YOU’RE MISSING …

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Vivek Saxena
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