Episode Overview

Podcast: How Is This Better?
Host: Akilah Hughes (COURIER)
Episode: Money in Politics: It Wasn't Always Like This
Date: October 24, 2025

In this episode, Akilah Hughes digs into how money’s influence in US politics has escalated dramatically over the past 15 years, primarily focusing on the disastrous impact of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. Featuring guests Tiffany Muller (President of End Citizens United) and Brian Derrick (Co-founder/CEO of Oath), the episode asks: how did campaign finance go from mundane to overwhelming, and is there any way for regular people to fight back?

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Money in Politics: The Shift Since the 1990s

• Nostalgic Opening: Akilah sets the scene in 1991, when politics felt less intrusive and the typical American wasn’t inundated with donation requests (00:01).
• Contrast to Today: She points to the marathon of fundraising and campaign ads post-2010, following the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. FEC decision, which ushered in a new era of unlimited, often undisclosed spending.

2. Citizens United: Origin & Catastrophic Impact

• Explanation of Citizens United (01:31)

  • Tiffany Muller boils it down:

    "It took two really terrible ideas and it merged them together. And it said money equals speech and corporations are people. And both of those things we think are bullshit." (01:42, C/Tiffany Muller)

  • The decision put “a for sale sign on our democracy,” enabling unlimited and largely untraceable money to flood political campaigns.
  • Special interests now spend record-breaking amounts every cycle, concentrating power among the ultra-wealthy.

• Corruption & Polarization on Full Display:

  • Muller notes:

    “We’re seeing kind of the most brazen corruption that we have seen in probably 100 years in our country.” (03:15, C/Tiffany Muller)

  • High-profile examples of excess and corruption are cited: crypto scandals, meme coins, contracts for Elon Musk, etc.

• The Numbers:

  • $20 billion spent on 2024 presidential campaigns—a doubling every four-year cycle since 2010 (03:44).
  • Much of this money is dark money:
    • “501(c)(4)s, the ‘dark money’ groups... don’t have the same public disclosure requirements” (03:44).

3. How Money Actually Shapes Elections

• Return on Investment for Billionaires:

  • Brian Derrick explains:

    “Billionaires like Elon Musk...willing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on electing Donald Trump because then they immediately saw a over trillion dollar tax cut as a result.” (05:08, B/Brian Derrick)

  • The economic incentives for mega-donors are clear; their investment in candidates garners direct financial benefits.

• Complex Web of Influencers:

  • Super PACs, national party committees, 501(c)(3) nonprofit orgs, and (c)(4) "dark money" entities all play roles in campaign spending and narrative control (06:46, B/Brian Derrick).

4. Grassroots vs. Big Money: Can Small Dollars Compete?

• Rising Grassroots Donations:

  • An uptick in political donations from everyday Americans; "a majority of registered Democrats say they've donated within the last two cycles" (08:48, B/Brian Derrick).
  • Still, small donations struggle to counterbalance the massive, targeted spending of special interests.

• Why Individual Giving Matters:

  • Derrick argues:

    “That hopelessness that you feel is what gets you to check out. And that’s what gives Elon Musk more power in that $20 million. If that $20 million doesn’t just buy ads, but it also buys your silence.” (00:55, B/Brian Derrick)

5. Historical Context: “This Isn’t the First Time”

• Tillman Act of 1907:

  • Enacted to counter the disproportionate influence of corporations during the Gilded Age (09:46, A/Akilah Hughes).
  • For 100 years, “we kept corporations from spending in our elections” (10:06, C/Tiffany Muller).

• How Citizens United Came About:

  • Citizens United (a corporation) wanted to run anti-Hillary Clinton ads in 2008 but was barred; the Supreme Court ultimately ruled for their right under “free speech.”
  • The Court’s two key (and, as experts say, naïve or corrupt) assumptions:
    1. All campaign spending would be transparent and disclosed
    2. Money alone isn’t corrupting unless it’s a direct quid pro quo
  • Reality: “Prior to Citizens United, we knew where about 75% of the money in our elections came from. Now it’s only about 25%...” (14:18, C/Tiffany Muller).

6. Obama & the Immediate Backlash (Iconic Quote)

• Barack Obama in 2010, warning Congress during the State of the Union:

  “The Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests, including foreign corporations, to spend without limit in our elections. I don't think American elections should be bankrolled by America's most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign enemies.” (13:32, B/Obama)

• Noted live: Justice Samuel Alito grimacing and mouthing “not true”—a now-famous mask-off moment.

7. Wasted Money: How Well-Intentioned Donors Miss the Mark

• Scam PACs:

  • “Biggest waste is to give to a scam PAC...They're spending that money on themselves. They're not giving it to candidates. It is an actual scam.” (16:01, B/Brian Derrick)

• Inefficient “Rage Donations”:

  • Many donors give in response to news headlines without researching competitiveness or need:

    “We are spending over a hundred million dollars per Senate race...often times that money goes where it’s not going to be used as efficiently as it could be.” (16:01, B/Brian Derrick)

  • The majority of small donations in 2024 Dem Senate races (67%) went to contests not even remotely close (19:17, B/Brian Derrick).

• Donating Too Late:

  • “If I give that same money in October all they can do is buy more ads… People should be giving way earlier than they typically would.” (16:01, B/Brian Derrick)

• Estimated Waste:

  • $600-$800 million in 2024 could have been much better spent had donors had more information (19:09, B/Brian Derrick).

8. The Citizens United Effect: Is There ANY Upside?

• Spoiler: No.

  • Akilah:

    “I searched high and low for any benefit to the average person and frankly, the Citizens United decision disenfranchised voters and created a situation where the only way to be competitive as a candidate...is to raise outrageous sums of money keeping out everyday public servants.” (20:19, A/Akilah Hughes)

• What Now?

  • Solutions are tough: Overturning requires either a constitutional amendment or a Supreme Court reversal.
  • There are legislative fixes possible if enough reform-minded officials are elected (06:37, C/Tiffany Muller).
  • Next week: More real-life perspectives with candidate Kat Abogazale.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It took two really terrible ideas and it merged them together. And it said money equals speech and corporations are people. And both of those things we think are bullshit.” (01:42, C/Tiffany Muller)
• “The hopelessness that you feel is what gets you to check out. And that's what gives Elon Musk more power.” (00:55, B/Brian Derrick)
• “We're seeing kind of the most brazen corruption that we have seen in probably 100 years in our country.” (03:15, C/Tiffany Muller)
• Obama’s warning to Congress:

  “I don't think American elections should be bankrolled by America's most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign enemies.” (13:32, B/Obama)

• “Prior to Citizens United, we knew where about 75% of the money in our elections came from. Now it's only about 25%...It is a disaster, an utter disaster.” (14:18, C/Tiffany Muller)
• “I would quantify the approximate waste of resources in the 2024 cycle...somewhere between 600 and $800 million that could have been much better spent in a different race had someone had more information when donating.” (19:09, B/Brian Derrick)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | | --- | --- | | 00:01 | Akilah’s nostalgic 1990s vignette & framing of campaign finance changes | | 01:31 | Citizens United ruling, its two "terrible ideas," and fallout | | 03:44 | Surge in political spending and the rise of dark money | | 05:08 | Brian Derrick on billionaire ROI in campaign giving | | 06:46 | Breakdown of PACs, Super PACs, dark money, and narrative control | | 08:48 | How grassroots political giving has changed since 2010 | | 10:06 | The 100-year battle to keep corporate money at bay | | 13:32 | Obama’s State of the Union warning on Citizens United | | 14:18 | The Court’s mistaken assumptions and the explosion of dark money | | 16:01 | Derrick’s “wasted money” guide: scam PACs, rage donations, late donations | | 19:09 | $600–$800 million in wasted Democratic Senate donations, 2024 | | 20:19 | Akilah’s conclusion: “It’s not better” and preview of Part 2 |

Tone & Language

The tone is candid, urgent, and sometimes darkly humorous, blending expert analysis with the host's incredulity and frustration at the current campaign finance system. Guests and host are unafraid to use blunt, direct language to indict current practices and Supreme Court logic (“bullshit,” “utter disaster”).

Summary Takeaways

• Citizens United fundamentally broke the campaign finance system and concentrated political power among the wealthy and special interests.
• Most campaign money now flows through an opaque, layered system, making government more responsive to big donors than ordinary people.
• Well-meaning small donors often inadvertently waste millions due to reactionary or uninformed giving habits.
• There are few upsides for ordinary Americans, and reform is dauntingly hard—but understanding the system is a vital first step.
• Next, the series will dig into the on-the-ground realities of running for office today.

This summary encapsulates the key themes, insights, and memorable moments from “How Is This Better?”: Money in Politics—It Wasn't Always Like This (October 24, 2025). Perfect for listeners who want to quickly grasp the episode’s major points and quotable moments.