A Few Thoughts on VA01 Democratic Candidate Shannon Taylor’s “’Serve the People First’ Agenda”

See below for a press release from VA01 “Red-to-Blue” Democratic candidate Shannon Taylor (the other candidates are Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs, Salaam Bhatti, Tim Cywinski, Jason Knapp, Ericka Kopp and Mel Tull) are  on her new “‘Serve the People First’ Agenda.”  But first, here are a few thoughts on the main items, roughly in descending order of how crucial I think they are (and some of my reasoning, in parentheses/bold/green). But first, I’ve just gotta say, I find the Taylor campaign’s press release title and subtitle annoying for a couple reasons: a) the problem isn’t a generic “Culture of Corruption in Washington,” it’s overwhelmingly TRUMP and MAGA, so why lump Democrats into that?; b) I get that the “take on both parties” is poll-tested language that voters in “purple”/”reddish” districts like VA01 supposedly love, but I don’t really buy that on a purely political basis, and it’s also obnoxious “both-sidesism” which I have hated for many years. With that, here are the items from Taylor’s press release, with my thoughts.

• “Overturn Citizens United v. FEC and Force Dark Money Into the Light” (This ruling has done enormous damage to our democracy and absolutely must be overturned if we are to have any hope of being a democracy in the future. Of course, to accomplish this, what we’re really going to need is *massive* reforms to the US Supreme Court, along the lines of what Jamelle Bouie has laid out.)
• “Hold Illegal Monopolies, Who Raise Our Costs, Accountable” (With Elon Musk becoming a f’ing TRILLIONAIRE, with wealth inequality reaching insane levels, and with corporate power dangerously out of control, we badly need a new era of “trust-busting,” enforcement – and strenghtening – of laws against monopoly power, etc. Again, though, we’re going to need to massively reform the US Supreme Court…).
• “Limit the Pardon Power That Has Been Abused by Both Parties to Create Separate Rules for Their Families and Friends” (In the past, there certainly were abuses of the president’s pardon power, but Trump has made things orders of magnitude worse, with his pardons of January 6 insurrectionists, his use of pardons as part of his insane levels of corruption, etc. One point here, by the way; Shannon Taylor’s bullet point on this referendes “both parties” having abused this power, and while this is technically true, there is literally NO COMPARISON WHATSOEVER to the abuses we’re seeing with Trump, and certainly not any kind of equivalence between “Trump’s pardon of Hondorun President Jaun Orlando Hernandez, who helped smuggle hundreds of tons of cocaine into the United States” and “President Biden’s pardon of Hunter Biden.” In fact, honestly, this alone almost makes me not want to support Shannon Taylor, as this kind of “both-sides”/false-equivalency “thinking” angers me immensely, and also makes me think that the person doing it is either completely cluelesss or just cynically pandering to the corporate media or whatever. Either way, hard pass!)
• “Ban Members of Congress from Trading Stocks Using Information No Other American Has” (It seems like an absolute no-brainer that shit like this – “Over his nearly 20 years in Congress, Rob Wittman ballooned his net worth by more than 18 times, from $200,000 to $8.1 million, in part by trading over $2 million in stocks while having access to information no American outside of government has.” – should be illegal. WTF???)
• “Ban Members of Congress from Becoming Lobbyists on Behalf of the Corporations They Regulate, for Life” (Again, this one should be a no-brainer, both at the federal and state level…hard to believe it’s allowed anywhere!)
• “Restore Trust in Congress by Rejecting Corporate PAC Money” (This is a good idea, although of course it needs to apply to everyone; no unilateral disarmament for Democrats. Also, it’s kind of interesting to note that when Shannon Taylor ran for AG last year, she took a ton of money from Dominion Energy, which is – at least in theory – a state regulated monopoly utility, and which of course should NOT be allowed to donate to the very people who pass laws that impact them. But sadly, Virginia’s been the “wild west” for campaign finance laws, or lack thereof, for ages, and Dominion money is sloshing around everywhere, including in the media, among politicians of both parties, etc. But anyway, it would have been nice to see a mention of Dominion Energy in Taylor’s press release and/or plan.)
• “Mandatory Jail Time for Politicians that Steal Our Tax Payer Funds” (Sure, seems like a no-brainer.)

As for “Institute Term Limits for Members of the House, So They Serve Us, Not Themselves,” I have mixed feelings, as I wouldn’t want to lose excellent members of Congress who have years of experience and expertise, but it *would* be nice if people who are just hanging on and not doing much anymore would leave. Of course, in the end, voters COULD “term limit” their member of Congress by voting them out of office, although I understand that it’s extremely difficult to do so, given all the advantages incumbents have.  Of course, if we had a system of public financing, ranked-choice voting, and other reforms, it would be a lot more likely that talented challengers could actually have a chance at unseating entrenched incumbents…so maybe let’s try those reforms first?

P.S. I almost forgot to mention the superb “For the People Act,” which passed the U.S. House in 2021 thanks to Democrats, and which would have “expand[ed] voting rights, change[d] campaign finance laws to reduce the influence of money in politics, ban partisan gerrymandering, and create new ethics rules for federal officeholders.” I’d love to see Democratic candidates for Congress this year pledge to support legislation like this, which also included “voluntary public financing for campaigns, matching small donations at a 6:1 ratio”; “require[ment that] super PACs and other ‘dark money’ organizations to disclose their donors”; “incorporat[ion of] campaign finance reform provisions from the DISCLOSE Act”; etc.

Prosecutor Shannon Taylor Rolls Out “Serve the People First” Agenda to Crack Down on the Culture of Corruption in Washington 

Henrico’s top prosecutor and candidate for Congress announces plan to take on both parties and hold corrupt politicians like Congressman Rob Wittman accountable

HENRICO, VA – Today, Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney and congressional candidate Shannon Taylor announced her new “Serve the People First” Agenda, a sweeping ethics and accountability agenda aimed at putting an end to the culture of corruption in Washington and cracking down on self-dealing by elected officials who are looking out for themselves while raising our costs and hurting our community.

“I became a prosecutor to keep people safe. As I see what is happening to our community and our country, it has become clear to me that corrupt politicians in Congress must be held accountable,” said Shannon Taylor. “Politicians like Rob Wittman are profiting off the suffering of Virginians, while voting to make themselves richer. They must be held accountable not just for the corruption, but for what that corruption costs us every single day. That is why I am putting Washington on trial and am ready to prosecute the case against anyone who has betrayed Virginia, including Congressman Rob Wittman.”

As Henrico’s Commonwealth’s Attorney, Shannon Taylor has spent the last 14 years holding people accountable when they break the law and betray the public trust. Her work has earned her the endorsements of 25 law enforcement leaders across the Commonwealth. She is bringing that same mission to Congress, where too many politicians have spent years enriching themselves, protecting special interests, and eroding public faith in government.

“Shannon has had the backs of law enforcement. She has stood with us and helped us do our jobs, and she has always stood against the bad guys trying to do harm,” said Sheriff Alisa Gregory who has endorsed Shannon and stood by her as she announced the new agenda. “She has never backed down from a tough fight, and she has never put herself ahead of the people she serves. We can trust her to take on the corrupt politicians in Washington and by doing that, give us a Congress that will actually focus on lowering costs for our families and keeping us safe.”

Few politicians better embody Washington’s culture of self-enrichment than Rob Wittman. After nearly two decades in Congress, Wittman has turned a public office meant to serve the people into personal wealth – increasing his net worth roughly 40-fold, trading more than $2.5 million in stocks while in office and violating the STOCK Act, and voting for tax breaks that benefit himself and his billionaire and special interest donors, all while hardworking Virginians are left footing the bill.

Shannon is running to put an end to that culture of corruption. That is why she is supporting policies to clean up Washington, including:

• Banning members of Congress from trading stocks using information no other American has access to;

• Permanently shutting down the revolving door between Congress and a lobbyist’s office;

• Ending corporate influence in Washington and creating real consequences for politicians who betray the public trust;

• Fighting for term limits and committing to serve no more than 12 years in office regardless of their passage;

• Forcing dark money into the light, overturning Citizens United, and holding illegal monopolies accountable when they raise costs on working families.

You can find the full “Serve the People First” Agenda HERE.

ABOUT SHANNON:

Shannon Taylor is a battle-tested prosecutor with 25 years of experience and a 90% conviction rate in homicide cases, taking on the toughest threats to Virginia families and delivering justice. A native of Charlottesville and graduate of the University of Virginia and the University of Richmond Law School, she began her career as a prosecutor in Richmond before serving as a Special Assistant in the U.S. Attorney’s office. In 2011, she flipped the Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office from Republican to Democrat, becoming the first woman elected to the role. She has since been re-elected three times, proving she knows how to win tough races.

As Commonwealth’s Attorney, Taylor has pioneered programs to support victims of human trafficking, created a task force to tackle the opioid epidemic, and led prosecutors statewide in pledging not to criminalize women or doctors for abortion care. She has worked alongside law enforcement to keep families safe, fought fraud that harms working people, and partnered with gun safety advocates to take illegal guns off the streets.

Shannon Taylor has built her career on protecting Virginians and delivering justice for families regardless of their politics.

For more on Shannon Taylor’s campaign, visit ShannonTaylorVA.com.