Federal Election Commission filings recently revealed that Ken Griffin, Illinois’s richest resident, has given $10 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund and $5 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, the super political action committees of the Republican Party leadership in Congress. The money is meant to help Republicans take control of the U.S. House and the Senate.
Over the years, Griffin has devoted some of his $28 billion fortune to charitable efforts in Chicago, including the University of Chicago, whose economics department now bears his name. Many times, he has given in public-spirited ways.
But Griffin’s recent political giving is not public-spirited. We are at a perilous time in our nation’s history. The constitutional system of popular government and rule of law is fragile. Rep. Kevin McCarthy and Sen. Mitch McConnell lead a party seemingly content to let our democracy collapse, indeed, even eager to wreck it. The Supreme Court says Griffin’s donations are speech protected by the First Amendment. With the privilege of the extraordinary influence afforded by his wealth, however, also comes extraordinary responsibility.
On Jan. 6, 2021, for the first time, the orderly transfer of power to a duly elected president was interrupted by a violent attack on Congress. Despite fleeing the House and Senate chambers in fear for their lives, witnessing assaults on Capitol police officers and hearing attackers’ threats to kill the House speaker and the vice president, 139 Republican representatives (including McCarthy, the minority leader) and eight Republican senators returned to the Capitol and voted to reject the electoral votes anyway. Far from remorseful, even further from appalled, the Republican Party on Feb. 4 declared the attack “legitimate political discourse.”
Far more than most of us, Griffin is in a position to do something about the Republicans’ rogue turn. After last year’s insurrection, dozens of firms announced plans to suspend contributions to Republicans who voted to reject the electoral vote counts. That got the party’s attention. McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, warned the corporations to “stay out of politics” — but not to the extent of giving no money to Republicans. Many corporate PACs have resumed donations.
Griffin was the second-largest contributor to Republican-aligned congressional campaign funds in 2020, according to the Center for Media and Democracy. He gave $59.8 million. After Jan. 6, he could have told party leaders that he would not give any more until they repudiate the Capitol rioters, expunge President Donald Trump, acknowledge the legitimacy of President Joe Biden’s election and work with Democrats to ensure that nothing of the sort ever happens again.
Perhaps Griffin has received assurances from Republican leaders that their aspersions on the election and the certification process were just political theater and that they will behave responsibly when their actions really matter, when they are in the majority. But if they do not act responsibly when it does not matter, why would he, or anyone else, think they would do what is right when it does matter and when it is hard to do right and tempting to do wrong?
Or perhaps popular government and the rule of law matter less to Griffin than the tax rates for corporations and the mega-rich. That is his choice to make, but to be clear, it is a decision to put his private interests ahead of the public interest.
And if that is his choice, he may rue the day he helped to undermine democracy. A party that does not respect civil and political rights — because it has a lock on power and does not have to — also has no reason to safeguard property rights and assure fair play. Because they can act with impunity, authoritarian regimes are often as bad for the rich as they are for the people. As president, Trump browbeat furnace-maker Carrier into maintaining an uncompetitive plant in Indianapolis, allowed his son-in-law to raise money for his business from American allies and threatened Amazon and founder Jeff Bezos with everything from higher postal rates to antitrust action.
As the saying goes, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Right now, America needs rich donors who consider the public good in their political giving as they do in their charitable giving. Griffin can vouchsafe our democracy. He can take back his $15 million. He can tell the leaders of the Republican Party that he will not participate in the dismemberment of popular government and the rule of law. He can enlist his wealthy and philanthropic friends, starting with his fellow Chicago business leaders Pat Ryan and Craig Duchossois
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, in this urgent cause.In times like these, public spiritedness and love of country demand it.
John Mark Hansen is a professor in political science at the University of Chicago
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