Tanaka Swuwure - Nixon lyrics

[Nixon] "I made my mistakes... but in all my years of public Life, I have never profited, never profited I earned every cent..." "Money is speech" "The more speech the better" "I don't like all the influence of money in politics" When people think of Watergate they think of a break-in But they don't mention the money that Nixon was taking From wealthy donors to help him get re-elected Nixon paid them back in favors just like they expected To battle corruption Congress pa**ed a new law Capping contributions to a candidates haul The source of the donations had to be disclosed too And the F.E.C. was formed to enforce the new rules Some who felt the law went against the Constitution Saying limits on money limited free speech too So the courts kept a limit on how much you can donate But said spending was umlimited by an outside group or candidate The more spending limits to promote a cause Or to point out a rival campaign's flaws Candidates once snuck with brown paper bags They now raised money publicly or to PACs [Hook] "We should also curb the roll of big money in elections By capping the cost of campaigns" Now in the 80s and 90s there was a new gimmick "Soft Money" that's disclosed but had no limits It's supposed to cover each party's expenses But guys like Clinton used it to help their election chances There was just one problem: Clinton's party was broke So he asked for more money every time he spoke And in return for 100 million cash He let donors use the Lincoln bedroom to crash in Then the "scandal and reform" cycle happened again And legislation was proposed by Feingold and Mccain It capped donations to parties ? And banned corporate/union issue ads right before elections But with each new reform comes new loopholes Tax exempt 527s arose Because they weren't explicit about whom they supported Many still raised money without limits to thwart them "I don't think american elections should be bankrolled By America's most powerful interests..." But the most outside money was yet to be spent Some argued spending limits broke the 1st Amendment Corporations and unions are entitled to free speech They took it to court, the Supreme Court agreed! Super PACs can raise as much money as they want They can also use union and corporate funds The only rule is: they cannot coordinate With a specific party or a specific candidate But reform opponents weren't quite done yet They found new uses for 501-c-4 non-profits Which are a lot like super PACs with more mystery They haven't had to disclose donors ever in history Whether Republican or Democrat, you might believe That spending limits jeopardize the freedom of speech But with each new cycle of deregulation More money's being injected into our elections