Cleaning up Our Own House – Restoring Trust in Government

A Democracy Under Threat

Public trust in government has been in decline for decades. For too long, Washington has been fueled by big-money fundraisers rather than town halls. Americans see corruption, insider deals, and political dysfunction and wonder whether anyone in Congress still works for them. Recent polling from Issue One underscores the scale of America’s trust crisis. Nearly 8 in 10 Americans (79%) agree that massive political spending by wealthy donors and corporations leads to corruption or the appearance of corruption. And more than three-quarters of voters (76%)—across party lines—say that the influence of money in politics makes them lose faith in democracy itself.

This isn’t a partisan issue. It’s a warning sign that our democracy is reaching a breaking point. When Americans no longer trust their leaders to act in the public interest, every institution suffers. That’s why the need to restore accountability, transparency, and trust in government is not just urgent—it’s existential.

Bayly Winder, Democratic candidate for Congress in New Jersey’s 2nd District, believes it’s time to change that. His plan for reform targets the core of Washington’s trust deficit– money, power, and ethics. The goal is simple: make government work for the people, not the powerful. Winder’s plan includes four key points to remove undue corporate influence, hold politicians accountable, and strengthen the institutions that combat corruption and excess.

Cutting the Corporate Strings

Secret political donations from transnational corporations and a handful of ultra-wealthy donors laundered through Super PACs, known as “dark money,” are at their highest rates in history. This blatant corruption was set in motion by the 2010 Supreme Court decision on Citizens United, which allows corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money to push their preferred candidates and interests. Since the 5-4 ruling, which overturned over 100 years of precedent, billionaire spending in our political system increased 160-fold since 2010. With political power concentrated in the hands of a few megadonors, our elected representatives face skewed incentives on who to represent– with many shamelessly in the pockets of their donors. 

Voters shouldn’t need to compete with billionaires and faceless corporate lobbyists for attention from the people they elect. Rebuilding democracy starts with cutting the strings that tie public policy and Congressional access to private wealth. Overturning Citizens United is a big task and key objective. We can start by pushing for common sense reforms to our existing guardrails: 

• Strengthen the FEC: The Federal Election Commission is intended to ensure that campaigns are run independently and transparently. But most enforcement cases aren’t resolved until months after an election takes place, and the Commission’s partisan structure has led to more and more deadlocked cases in recent years. We need a stronger FEC with real enforcement power to stop the multi-billion dollar shell game and close loopholes where candidates and super PACs secretly skirt transparency laws.

• Empower State Enforcement: Where our federal representatives have failed, states should prevail. States have unique “reserve” powers over their corporations that allow them to end political spending despite Citizens United. For example, common sense legislation that strengthens state rights over elections and corporations operating within their borders is already on the ballot in Montana, but Congress should be encouraging more states to take this step and force change.

• Pass the SHINE Act and DISCLOSE Act: Transparency is the first line of defense against corruption. The SHINE Act would close loopholes that allow “pop-up” PACs to hide last-minute donations, requiring them to disclose contributions of $1,000 or more within 48 hours in the weeks before an election. The DISCLOSE Act goes further by requiring super PACs and dark-money groups to reveal donors giving $10,000 or more, cracking down on shell corporations and foreign interference, and shining a light on political spending in judicial nominations. Together, these bills would give voters the transparency they deserve—and make it harder for hidden money to buy influence in our democracy.

• Advance a Constitutional Amendment: Ultimately, real reform requires fixing the problem at its source. That’s why Bayly supports efforts like the Democracy for All Amendment and the Citizens Over Corporations Amendment, which would overturn Citizens United and permanently restore Congress and the states’ ability to regulate campaign spending. These proposals would end the era of unlimited corporate money in politics and return power to the people whose voices have been drowned out by special interests.

Ending the Era of Career Politicians

Public service is a duty, not a career path. These days it seems like the longer you stay in Washington, the further you stray from that duty. Our politicians have far too much control over how and how long they stay in power, enabling abuses and preventing accountability. This can be fixed by reforming how the powerful get to Washington in the first place:

• Term limits for Congress: Term limits open the door for new energy, new voices, and leaders who understand life outside the Beltway. Limits of two terms for Senators and five terms for House members ensure that the people are always front of mind for our elected officials– not individual career goals and vanity projects. Rotating leadership means more responsiveness and less stagnation. It also forces parties to look beyond seniority and focus on merit and new ideas.

• Term limits for the Supreme Court: Replacing lifetime appointments with fixed 18-year terms would ensure regular turnover, and reduce the partisan betting game around a justice’s retirement and new nominations. The Supreme Court should be aligned with the attitude of the nation, not shaped for the next 50 years at a time by out of touch, unelected justices. 

• Banning gerrymandering nationally: Instituting a national gerrymandering ban would mean that voters choose their representatives, not the other way around. As is, longtime Congressional leaders practically draw their own districts, keeping their elections uncompetitive and their wins guaranteed. We are now in a race to the bottom with gerrymandering, and voters live in constant uncertainty of who their representative even is. The solution is legislation like the Freedom to Vote Act, which would prohibit partisan gerrymandering nationwide. This will make elections more competitive, force our representatives to respond to the will of the people, and bring everyday Americans’ voices back to Washington. 

Holding our Government to a Higher Standard

The American way of life depends on trust in the rule of law. The antidote to this eroding trust is to remove conflicts of interest and abuses of power in the bodies that our Founding Fathers put in place to create and uphold the laws that make us safe, prosperous, and free. To restore trust in all three branches of government, we must:

• Ban insider trading in Washington: We must prohibit DC insiders from buying or selling individual stocks while in office. Writing and setting policy cannot be motivated by personal profit. That’s why Bayly supports legislation like Senator Kim’s Restore Trust in Public Servants Act, a comprehensive proposal that applies to all three branches of government, covers digital assets such as cryptocurrency, and includes additional ethics reforms to strengthen disclosure requirements and close loopholes. This bill represents a serious, bipartisan step toward restoring integrity and rebuilding public confidence in those entrusted to serve.

• Enforce an ethical code of conduct for the Supreme Court: Trust in our American system evaporates when the highest court operates without clear rules or transparency. It is unacceptable for a body so powerful to lack any kind of oversight, whether by an independent ethics review board or a more comprehensive code of conduct. Binding standards—disclosure rules, recusal guidelines, and outside oversight—would strengthen the Court’s legitimacy and restore public faith in its impartiality. 

• Prevent Presidential Self-Enrichment: New enforcement mechanisms are necessary to ensure that no public official can accept gifts, payments, or benefits from foreign powers. Legislation like the No Bribes for Politicians Act strengthens this principle by prohibiting the President from profiting off any business interests or likeness while in office, banning their family members from using the presidency for personal gain, and preventing federal agencies from accepting gifts from foreign nations in connection with official duties. Alongside proposals like the Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Enforcement Act, this bill would codify and modernize the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause—ensuring that self-enrichment, corruption, and conflicts of interest have no place in public service, now or in the future.

Preserving a Nonpartisan, Single-Tier Justice System  

Restoring trust in government requires that those in power work for the people. In recent years, Americans have watched the highest levels of government launch bogus criminal investigations, pressure judges, and make a mockery of oversight investigations. The executive branch is meant to carry out the law, efficiently and effectively, not attack Americans for their beliefs or political leanings.

• Restoring an independent DOJ: The Department of Justice has become an explicit arm of whoever is in the White House, losing sight of actually delivering justice in favor of applying political pressure on opponents. We need clear statutory and structural protections to insulate DOJ leadership and federal prosecutors from partisan interference. This includes codifying DOJ independence, returning to post-Watergate precedents, and strengthening the authority of career prosecutors over appointed leadership.

• Protecting Inspectors General: Inspectors General are the internal referees of democracy, exposing waste, fraud, and abuse inside government. IGs clearly need stronger protections to make sure the government is working for the people, including Congressional approval of removal, whistleblower anonymity guarantees, and enforcement of prompt replacement.

Cleaning up Washington won’t happen in a vacuum. It requires collaboration with the organizations and advocates who have spent years fighting to restore ethics and integrity in our political system. Bayly Winder’s campaign is committed to working hand in hand with national partners who share a vision of government that serves people, not power.

To demonstrate this commitment, Bayly signed the Unrig Washington Pledge from End Citizens United affirming his support for stronger transparency laws, campaign finance reform, and an end to the corrosive influence of big money in politics. He also signed The Candidate Pledge from American Promise.

Public service is about trust. We deserve government officials that are held to the highest possible standards. If we want to restore faith in democracy, we have to start by cleaning up our own house. This is more than a campaign platform. It’s a promise to make Washington accountable again and to prove that democracy can still deliver for the people who built it.