You can't fix corruption until you can name it. The biggest piece of corruption in American politics isn't a scandal — it's the absence of term limits, and the money that fills the vacuum.
You can't fix corruption until you can name it. The biggest piece of corruption in American politics isn't a scandal — it's the absence of term limits, and the money that fills the vacuum.
The first step in fighting corruption is to know your enemy. We have layers of corruption in the US election systems. The status quo is the enemy. Change is needed.
At the top of the corruption pyramid is lack of term limits for Congress. When billionaires or corporations donate to a SC politician, they must expect something in exchange. Lindsey Graham raises 10s of millions of dollars, 87% of which comes from out of state. They expect certain behavior. He molds his to suit the moment. Political money should come from in state. And campaign war chests should be capped by law.
Second is the dark money influence. The Supreme Court decided Political Action Committees are legal. This provides a vehicle for incumbents to collect campaign funds indirectly. Congress needs to write laws that make these PACs illegal and require all donations to be made to candidates. The recent Senate primary in Illinois to replace Durbin featured total spending over $100 million. PACs should be illegal.
Third is where the money is spent. On media, social media, mailing lists, targeted spam, and campaign mercenaries. The media controls who can communicate on their platform. Airtime and posts go to the highest bidder. Every post we make on Facebook we are offered the opportunity to "boost" the post for $42. This means they will show it to 6 more groups of their choosing. Simply stated, pay to play. This feeds the two party system. It shuts out smaller parties and independents. These companies argue they are public utilities, but they are not. There should be access protections for candidates who register with the FEC.
Fourth is the requirement for in person voting. We trust the internet with our Social Security, our income tax, our banking and investing, our drivers license renewals, our passport renewals, our credit reports, our trusted traveler renewals, our health care data, and our voters registration number, but somehow we do not trust on line ballots of any kind. To get on the ballot, we have to get 10,000 signatures and addresses on a 8.5X14 ballot petition, one county per page, with each page showing lots of data fields that are not required by law. The parties have made the rules unnecesarily complex. We should be able to vote or petition for getting on a ballot online in SC if we have a "Real ID".
Fifth, the data selling is out of control. The State sells data. Spammers buy data. I could buy 3.3 million names, addresses, birth years, and whether you voted in the last two elections from the State. This is my personal data, which I should own. Data brokers have all info on you for sale. Where you live and have lived, all your relatives and neighbors names, who your mortgage company is, your phone and email, and in some cases your SS number. I don't want to be their product. I don't want their spam. Data selling without explicit permission for the sale should be illegal. If college athletes get name, image and likeness payments, I expect the same. Make it illegal to sell or use my data without my permission.
And finally, there are cultural rules in place for politics. No corporation wants politics in their place of work. They fear the implications. No church wants politics in their church, for fear some will be offended. No one that works for an elected politician can voice their position without fear of retaliation. The only place an independent can communicate is in on the street or through their own network of friends. Almost all environments are off limits. Our society favors the major parties. That's how we end up with out of touch lifetime politicians.
At every level, the layers of corruption should be known. People who say 'I don't vote because it doesn't matter' are everywhere. If you want people to trust the system again, people who hold an approved ID proving our citizenship should be able to vote online. Independent candidates should be able to get ballot petition signatures online at SCVotes.gov.
A Federal law like the SAVE Act would get bipartisan support if it offered online convenience for the supermajority of American citizens with Real IDs in exchange for some inconvenience for those who have not yet gotten a Real ID. If my Real ID at the airport is acceptable, I should be able to use it to vote. I support voter ID requirements. I don't support the notion that in person voting is the best way forward for Democracy.
By Don Louis · Published 2026-04-05