Saturday is the 13th anniversary of the infamous Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling, when the Supreme Court struck down key provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. The court decided that corporations and unions (and, by implication, anyone who can afford it) have a right to spend unlimited money to influence American elections.  

As a result of that ruling, spending in elections by dark money special interest groups – and even foreign governments – has turned into an arms race. Records are broken every election cycle, and the voices of everyday voters are continually silenced by the avalanche of spending. Nationally, the 2022 midterm was the most expensive on record, with over $16.7 billion spent in local and federal races. Here in Maine, a record breaking $127 million was spent during the midterm election, mostly in the form of attack ads from outside groups…