Dear Editor:

Words matter. In 2010, the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling redefined a few of them, and in doing so, rewrote the rules of American democracy. Money became speech. Corporations became people. And “corruption” became narrow enough to mean only one thing: cash handed over in exchange for a specific vote. Everything short of that, now, doesn't count.

That narrow definition is doing real work right here in Maine. Senator Collins's campaign accepted money from a defense contractor that subsequently won her support for its funding. Was there an explicit deal, a handshake, a promise? We may never know. The FBI was reportedly investigating questions surrounding the matter until the Trump administration dismantled the unit conducting the investigation. What we do know is this: money changed hands, the vote followed, and no one has been charged with the kind of explicit quid pro quo that current law requires to establish corruption. That is the system working as designed.

This is how authoritarianism and corruption creep in: through definitions quietly changed until behavior that once looked corrupt fits neatly inside the lines. If corruption no longer has a name, it cannot be prosecuted, and it becomes much harder to stop.

We do not have to accept that definition. The Abolish Super PACs Act (S. 4602) would cap super PAC contributions at $5,000 and curb their influence over our elections. The DISCLOSE Act would bring dark money into the daylight.

Please join me in urging Senators Collins and King to support these bills. Talk to your neighbors about them. Five of the nine justices redefined corruption in 2010. It will take millions of us to redefine it back.

Fred W. Nehring

Boothbay