Campaigns Without Spending Limits

WEDNESDAY, JULY 8
PROGRAM #11195 12:00 PM PT

Campaigns Without Spending Limits.

The Supreme Court eliminated federal limits on how much money political committees can spend on congressional candidates’ campaigns, just months before the midterm elections. The ruling is the latest in a series of decisions by the court’s conservative majority that have dismantled restrictions on money in politics under the banner of free speech. What does this mean in practice? Who benefits? How much money is being poured into campaigns, and who are the biggest spenders? How does this fuel corruption in politics?

Guest: Carmen Feliciano, Vice President of Policy and Advocacy, UnidosUS, Washington, DC.

Trans Athletes. The Supreme Court cleared the way for states to ban transgender girls and young women from participating in sports at public schools, while adding that transgender people deserve “respect.” The ruling follows last year’s decision upholding state laws that criminalize gender-affirming medical care for minors. 25 states have now banned or penalized it. What’s the content of this ruling? What are its implications? How has the inclusion of transgender people in sports worked in practice?

Guest: Andrea Montañez, Florida Field Organizer, National LGBTQ Task Force, Miami, FL.

Fire Spreads at an Alarming Rate in Colorado. The Aspen Acres fire, currently the largest burning in Colorado, has so far consumed around 100,000 acres and destroyed some 270 homes, making it the seventh-largest in the state’s history. This is in addition to the Snyder fire, which broke out on the western side of the Rocky Mountains, on the Colorado–Utah border, where three members of a Helitack team – fire crews who are flown by helicopter to wildfires – were killed and two others were injured when they were caught in the flames.

Guest: Jesús Sánchez Melean, Executive Director, El Comercio de Colorado Newspaper, Denver, CO.

Photo: Maria Oswalt/Unsplash

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