Watchdog: Jeb Bush’s Support for Overturning Citizens United Undermined by his Support for Allowing Unlimited Donations Directly to Candidates

| Laura Friedenbach

Washington, D.C. — Money-in-politics watchdog Every Voice released the following statement in response to Jeb Bush’s remarks supporting overturning Citizens United and allowing unlimited donations to candidates:

“Republicans and Democrats alike are responding to an electorate fed up with a broken political system that too often favors wealthy special interests at the expense of everyone else,” said Every Voice president and CEO David Donnelly. “Yet voters should not be fooled by Jeb Bush’s support to overturn the unpopular Citizens United decision because he followed it up with a call for unlimited donations to candidates that would completely undermine any progress made by overturning Citizens United.”

“If Bush wants to stand out from other GOP candidates on this issue and appeal to voter concerns over money in politics, he should adopt comprehensive solutions to give everyday people a voice in politics,” said Donnelly. “For example, he should back small-donor solutions including modernizing the presidential public financing system that both his brother and father used to get to the White House.”

Buzzfeed’s Tarini Parti tweeted that Jeb Bush replied to a question about money in politics saying, “ideal situation would be to overturn Citizens United. I would turn that on its head if I could.” TIME’s Zeke Miller added that while Bush voiced support for limiting spending by outside groups, he said he supports unlimited donations directly to candidates.

Every Voice recently released a new scorecard ranking presidential candidates on money-in-politics reform policies. Jeb Bush received a D-.

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Every Voice is a national nonpartisan organization fighting for a democracy that works for everyone. Learn more at everyvoice.org.