One of Senator Robert Menendez’s most vocal critics is marking the 13th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s on January 21, horrendous 5-4 decision in Citizens United v. FEC, by alerting citizens that the corrupt politician took money from corporations that support Republican seditionists, and expressing her renewed resolve to eradicate the corrosive influence of money in politics.
Hundreds of corporations that were identified by Open Secrets as contributors to ‘election denying Republicans’ who became traitors to the US Constitution, also gave money to political committees controlled by Senator Bob Menendez, according to Lisa McCormick, the progressive champion who earned nearly four out of ten votes cast when she challenged the corrupt incumbent in the 2018 Democratic primary election.
McCormick says the unethical, hawkish lawmaker is part of the soullessly corrupt political establishment in New Jersey, citing the bribes for which he was indicted in 2015 and the money he collected from businesses that also gave campaign funds to the 142 of the members of Congress who voted against the certification of 2020 election results amid the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021.
“Corporate PACs and industry trade groups steered over $66 million to election deniers during the two years since the attempted coup d’etat on Jan. 6, 2021,” said Lisa McCormick. “More than 350 of those same sedition-supporting groups contributed more than $3 million to Senator Menendez because he is also no friend of democracy.”
“If he cared at all about democracy, Senator Menendez would have led efforts to repair the virtual legalization of bribery and overt cheating used by both parties such as rigging the primary ballots, gerrymandering, and the dependence of candidates on private financial support,” said McCormick. “Instead, he has betrayed the public trust again by using his power to benefit himself, his family, and his donors with undeserved rewards while families were forced into poverty by the loss of the child tax credit,
“Voter suppression is not the only way to derail democracy,” said McCormick. “Senator Menendez engineered the electorate out of the picture when he used his influence to secure a seat in Congress for his son, going as far as to prevent from appearing on the ballot such qualified candidates as Law Professor Eugene Mazo and Forward Party leader Brian Varela.”
Sedition supporters contributed a total of $3,345,042 to New Millennium PAC, the Leadership PAC affiliated with Senator Robert Menendez, and his campaign committee, Menendez for Senate, according to documents for both entities filed with the Federal Election Commission.
McCormick says the laws must be revised to outlaw bribery in all forms with a public campaign financing system that makes candidates value ordinary working middle-class people more than the wealthy donors who usurped control of our government.
“Cases over the last 12 years made it increasingly difficult for prosecutors to get convictions as federal bribery laws have been dramatically narrowed by court decisions requiring prosecutors to prove an official took a specific governmental action in exchange for a bribe, said McCormick. “Our democracy belongs to the American people, which means Congress has a duty to take on both foreign governments and global corporations that bribe our policymakers, tamper with our election systems or delude our electorate.”
“Right now, our system of funding elections allows individuals and PACs to donate huge sums of money — collectively tens of thousands of dollars — to candidates and parties. And with money comes time, access, and the corruption of our representative democracy,” said US Senator Elizabeth Warren.
“We need to empower ordinary people through a small-dollar public financing system that gives candidates an incentive to spend more time courting working people, rather than just big donors,” said Warren. “But it’s not just individuals who spend money on politics: we can make corporations more accountable to workers and shareholders for their political spending. And of course, to make sure power stays in the hands of the people, we need a Federal Election Commission that can actually enforce election laws.
US Senator Bernie Sanders said that he would like to enact mandatory public financing laws for all federal elections and ban corporate donations for inaugural events.
Among the corporate PACs and industry trade groups that contributed to both election deniers and Senator Bob Menendez are: 3M Co; Abbott Laboratories; AbbVie Inc; AECOM US; AFLAC Inc; Airbus Group; Aircraft Owners & Pilots Assn; Airports Council Intl/North America; Akin, Gump et al; Alexion Pharmaceuticals; Alston & Bird; Altria Group; Amalgamated Sugar; Amazon.com; Ambulatory Surgery Center Assn PAC; Amedisys Inc; American Academy of Audiology; American Academy of Family Physicians; American Academy of Neurology; American Academy of Ophthalmology; American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry; American Academy of Sleep Medicine; American Airlines; American Assn of Nurse Practitioners; American Assn of Orthopaedic Surgeons; American Assn/Oral & Maxillofacial Surg; American Bankers Assn; American Chemistry Council; American Clinical Laboratory Assn; American College of Cardiology; American College of Emergency Physicians; American College of Physicians Services; American College of Radiology; American Congress of Obstetricians & Gynecologists; American Council of Engineering Cos; American Council of Life Insurers; American Crystal Sugar; American Dental Assn; American Express; American Financial Services Assn; American Fuel & Petrochem Manufacturers; American Gaming Assn; American Gas Assn; American Health Care Assn; American Hospital Assn PAC; American Hotel & Lodging Assn; American Institute of Architects; American Institute of CPAs; American Investment Council; American Nurses Assn; American Olive Oil Producers Assn; American Optometric Assn; American Osteopathic Assn; American Physical Therapy Assn; American Podiatric Medical Assn; American Property Casualty Insurance Assn; American Resort Development Assn; American Road & Transport Builders Assn; American Soc for Clinical Lab Science; American Society for Radiation Oncology; American Sportfishing Assn; American Sugar Cane League; American Sugarbeet Growers Assn; American Water Works Co; America’s Essential Hospitals; America’s Health Insurance Plans; AmerisourceBergen Corp; Amgen Inc; and Anheuser-Busch.
Also among the contributors to both seditionists and Senator Menendez are: Annaly Capital Management; Anywhere Real Estate; Apria Healthcare; Arcadis US; Arch Resources; Arconic Corp; ArentFox Schiff; Arkema Inc; Association of American Publishers; Astellas US; AT&T Inc; Bacardi USA; BAE Systems; Baker & Hostetler; Baker, Donelson et al; Barclays Group US; Barnes & Thornburg; Bayer Corp; Becton, Dickinson & Co; BGR Group; Biotechnology Innovation Organization; Blank Rome LLP; Blue Cross & Blue Shield Assn; BMO Financial Corp; BNSF Railway; Boehringer Ingelheim Corp; Boeing Co; Border Health; Bracewell LLP; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Brookdale Senior Living; Brownstein, Hyatt et al; Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney; CACI International; Caesars Entertainment; Calpine Corp; Career Education Colleges & Universities; Carrier Global; CGI Technologies & Solutions; Charter Communications; Chemours Co; Cheniere Energy; Chesapeake Energy; Chevron Corp; Cigar Assn of America; Citigroup Inc; Citizens Financial Group; Clear Channel Outdoor; CME Group; Coca-Cola Bottling Co United; Coca-Cola Co; Coca-Cola Consolidated; Cognizant Technology Solutions; Comcast Corp; Commercial Real Estate Finance Council; Consumer Bankers Assn; Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers; Covanta Energy Corp; Covington & Burling; Cox Enterprises; Cozen O’Connor; CSX Corp; CTIA; Cummins Inc; CVS Health; DaVita Inc; Day & Zimmermann; Deloitte LLP; Dentons US; Direct Selling Assn; Direct Supply Inc; DLA Piper; Duane Morris LLP; Duke Energy; Dunkin’ Brands; DuPont Co; Dykema Gossett; Eli Lilly & Co; EMD Serono Inc; Entergy Corp; Ericsson Inc; Exelon Corp; Exxon Mobil; Federation of American Hospitals; Federation of Exchange Accommodators; FedEx Corp; Fidelity Investments; Fidelity National Financial; Fidelity National Information Services; Financial Services Institute; First American Financial Corp; First Command Financial Planning; FirstEnergy Corp; Florida Sugar Cane League; Fluor Corp; FMC Corp; FMR Corp; Foley & Lardner; Ford Motor Co; Fox Corp; Fresenius Medical Care North America; FS Investments; Genentech Inc; General Atomics; General Cigar Co; General Dynamics; General Electric; General Motors; Genesis HealthCare; GenesisCare USA; Genworth Financial; Gilead Sciences; Global Business Travel Assn; Google Inc; and Greenberg Traurig LLP.
Also among the contributors to both seditionists and Senator Menendez are: H&R Block; Hartford Financial Services; HCA Inc; HDR Inc; Healthcare Distribution Alliance; Healthcare Supply Chain Assn; Herzog Contracting; Hewlett Packard Enterprise; HNTB Holdings; Hogan Lovells; Holland & Knight; Holland America Line; Honeywell International; HSBC North America; Huntington Ingalls Industries; Ice Miller LLP; iHeartMedia Inc; Independent Community Bankers of America; Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America; Institute for Portfolio Alternatives; Insured Retirement Institute; Intel Corp; International Bank of Commerce; International Franchise Assn; Intuit Inc; Invesco Ltd; Investment Co Institute; Iron Mountain Inc; ITG Brands; JM Family Enterprises; Johnson & Johnson; Jones Walker LLP; K&L Gates; King & Spalding; Kraft Heinz Co; Kratos Defense & Security Solutions; L3Harris Technologies; Laboratory Corp of America; Lincoln National Corp; Locke Lord LLP; Lockheed Martin; Lowe’s Companies; LPL Financial; Lundbeck Inc; LyondellBasell Industries; Maersk Inc; Managed Funds Assn; Marsh & McLennan; Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance; McDonald’s Corp; McGuireWoods LLP; Medical Device Manufacturers Assn; Merck & Co; MetLife Inc; MGM Resorts International; Michael Baker International; Minn-Dak Farmers Co-Op; Molina Healthcare; MoneyGram International; Monument Strategies; Mortgage Bankers Assn; Motorola Solutions; Mutual of Omaha; National Apartment Assn; National Assn of Real Estate Investment Trusts; National Auto Dealers Assn; National Beer Wholesalers Assn; National Community Pharmacists Assn; National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Assn; National Marine Manufacturers Assn; National Multifamily Housing Council; National Restaurant Assn; National Stone, Sand & Gravel Assn; National Structured Settlements Trade Assn; National Utility Contractors Assn; National Venture Capital Assn; Navient Corp; NCTA The Internet & Television Assn; New York Life Insurance; News Corp; NextEra Energy; Nixon Peabody LLP; and Norfolk Southern.
Also among the contributors to both seditionists and Senator Menendez are: Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance; Nossaman LLP; Novartis Corp; Novo Nordisk; Nustar Energy; Ocean Spray Cranberries; OneMain Financial; Online Lenders Alliance; Organon & Co; Out of Home Advertising Assn of America; Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Assn; Pacific Life Insurance; Pfizer Inc; PG&E Corp; Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers Of America; Pinnacle Bancorp; Pinnacle West Capital; Pitney Bowes Inc; Polsinelli PC; Premium Cigar Assn; PricewaterhouseCoopers; Prime Policy Group; Primerica Inc; Principal Life Insurance; Prudential Financial; PTC Therapeutics; Purpose Financial; QC Holdings; Qualcomm Inc; Quest Diagnostics; Raytheon Technologies; Real Estate Roundtable; Regions Financial; Reinsurance Assn of America; Rent-A-Center; Reynolds American; RGA Reinsurance; Rite Aid Corp; Rock Holdings; Ryder System; Sanofi US; Sazerac Co; Select Medical Corp; Siemens Corp; Small Business Investor Alliance; Southern Minn Beet Sugar Co-Op; Southwest Airlines; Squire Patton Boggs; Steptoe & Johnson; Stinson LLP; Sugar Cane Growers Co-op of Florida; Swisher International; TD Bank USA; Tellurian Inc; Teva Pharmaceuticals USA; Textron Inc; T-Mobile USA; Toyota Motor North America; Trane Technologies; TransAmerica; UBS Americas; Union Pacific Corp; United Airlines; United Egg Assn; United Parcel Service; UnitedHealth Group; Unum Group; US Oncology; Vanguard Group; Varian Medical Systems; Verizon Communications; Viatris Inc; Visa Inc; Wakefern Food; Walt Disney Co; Wells Fargo; Western Sugar Cooperative; Westinghouse Electric; Weyerhaeuser Co; Williams & Jensen; Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America; Winning Strategies Washington; and Zoetis Inc.
McCormick said it is critical to change the way elections operate because the voters have little influence when ballots are rigged, districts are gerrymandered, media outlets fail to inform the public and everyone in the system is focused entirely on money without attaching any values to its sources or how if it used to manipulate voters.
More than 95% of the 124 election objectors who ran for reelection in the House of Representatives in 2022 were successful, with just five election-objecting incumbents losing their bids in either the Republican primary or the general election.
With a highly targeted grassroots campaign that refused dirty money and spent less than $5,000, McCormick earned 159,998 votes in her June 2018 challenge to Menendez — a number that put her among the top ten statewide Democratic primary vote-getters in the last quarter-century — but she still lost despite her opponent’s unanimous admonishment by the US Senate Ethics Committee plus his bribery and corruption indictment by the Obama administration Justice Department.
“When Americans cannot remove from public office traitors and thieves, there is something deeply broken in our political system,” said McCormick. “I am calling on Americans to rise up to the responsibility of citizenship by making it imperative that all the traitors and thieves who betray our trust are removed from power, while we still have enough of a democracy to make a difference,”
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