I'm not running for the U.S. Senate because I think Lincoln Chafee is a bad man.

Society is indeed better off when we share knowledge with one another and have open debates about the issues in the public arena, with the hands and motives of the players identified.

From lying about climate change, to undermining programs that make up our social safety net, to opposing laws that reduce gun violence, to fighting marriage equality, the Kochs' tentacles infiltrate all parts of America's public debates.

In many ways, the rotten effects of dark money are seen less in what we do than in what we don't do.

Legislation to level the playing field for working families is dead on arrival in the Citizens United Congress.

The dreadful decision in Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission was the culmination of the Republican appointees' careful work to open American politics to corporate influence.

Juries are the constitutional institution designed to protect ordinary citizens against the wealthy and powerful.

Regulators owned and controlled by industry are not the American way.

We've seen too often what happens when wealthy and powerful industries gain excessive influence over the agencies that regulate them. The capture of the Minerals Management Service at the Department of Interior contributed to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

A lot of the Citizens United problem could be solved if we knew where the money came from for all these ads. The companies create these entities with fake names - like 'Citizens for Nice Puppies' - which means that the sources of the money are unaccountable.