Common Cause is a 501(c)(4) progressive advocacy group focusing on campaign finance law, so-called “fair redistricting,” and general liberal policy. Common Cause describes itself as “a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to restoring the core values of American democracy, reinventing an open, honest and accountable government capable of solving today’s challenges to the public interest, and empowering ordinary people to make their voices heard in a government that belongs to them.” ¹ In practice, the group opposes Republican politicians, Republican-nominated judges, Republican-backed efforts to ensure the integrity of voter rolls, and generally Republican redistricting efforts.

History

Common Cause was founded in 1970 by the late John Gardner. Gardner served as Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (later split into the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Education) in the Johnson administration.² Gardner was instrumental in the implementation of Johnson’s “Great Society” programs and brought Common Cause out of the Urban Coalition Action Council (UCAC), which he previously led. Gardner was the only Republican to serve in Johnson’s presidential cabinet. ^{3 4} Gardner had previously served as president of the Carnegie Corporation from 1955-1965.⁵

Gardner, similar to activists like Ralph Nader, sought to create what he called a “true citizens’ lobby” that would work to advance the well-being of the nation over special interests. Common Cause rose to prominence lobbying members of Congress to cut off funding for the Vietnam War. In 1971, the group filed lawsuits against both major political parties, claiming they violated campaign fundraising and spending laws, a maneuver that earned Gardner a place on President Richard Nixon’s “enemies list.” Common Cause gained additional momentum from the Watergate scandal.⁶

Common Cause has maintained the legacy of association with Democratic politicians it inherited from former Secretary Gardner. From 2003 to 2007, Common Cause was led by Chellie Pingree, who had recently been defeated for election to the United States Senate from Maine as a Democrat. Prior to her Senate campaign, Pingree was a Democratic member of the Maine state Senate, serving four years as Majority Leader. Pingree left Common Cause to run for the U.S. House of Representatives, winning election in 2008.⁷

Current Activities

While the Common Cause continues to bill itself as a nonpartisan entity, its leadership and its politics are very much weighted toward the Democratic Party and left-of-center politics. The current president is Karen Hobert Flynn, who had served as the group’s executive director in Connecticut. She first joined the group in 1985 as a national organizer and program director.⁸ A proponent of campaign finance reform, Hobert Flynn has editorialized against the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC in the Huffington Post and in other publications.⁹

Her immediate predecessor is Miles Rapoport, a former Connecticut lawmaker and secretary of the state who previously served as president of Demos, a left-leaning New York-based left-wing advocacy group. Former U.S. Representative Bob Edgar (D-Pennsylvania), now deceased, is another former Common Cause president who had also headed up the left-leaning National Council of Churches. Common Cause’s National Governing Board chairman is Clinton administration Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, who favors a single-payer government-controlled healthcare system.¹⁰

The group does have a long history of targeting conservative as opposed to liberal figures. Common Cause has used its ethics platform to censure Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork in 1985, House Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1995 and House Majority Leader Tom Delay in 2006.¹¹

In 2017, Common Cause opposed the nomination of then-U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) as U.S. Attorney General for the Trump administration. In a section on its web site titled: “Stop Jeff Sessions,” Common Cause released a series of talking points for supporters to read to U.S. Senators to encourage opposition to Sessions’ confirmation.¹²

In 2020, Common Cause co-signed a letter addressed to President Donald Trump which advocated for appointing a quorum of Federal Election Commission (FEC) Commissioners to enforce election laws.

Protect the Vote

Common Cause has a network of “election protection volunteers” through its Protect the Vote project. ¹³ These volunteers monitor polling locations for any type of election interference and have a hotline to report to if one sees any suspicious activity. As of October 23, 2020, the network has over thirty-six thousand volunteers signed up to monitor the 2020 Presidential Election. Protect the Vote claims to be “voters’ first line of defense against restrictive election laws, coronavirus-related voting disruptions, or anything else that could silence their voices.”¹⁴

Funding

Common Cause also draws in substantial financial support from left-progressive sources.

George Soros has given the group $2,025,000 since 2000 through his Open Society Foundations (formerly Open Society Institute) and $600,000 since 2009 through his Foundation to Promote Open Society. Arca Foundation has given the group $1,395,000 since 2000. Other donors include the Carnegie Corporation of New York ($1,810,000 since 2001), Joyce Foundation ($1,480,000 since 2003), San Francisco-based James Irvine Foundation ($1,375,000 since 2005), Ford Foundation ($685,000 since 2000), and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ($309,093 since 2002). The group has also received anonymous funding from major donor-advised fund providers—entities criticized by some progressive campaign finance reformers as “dark money”— like the Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund ($579,500 since 2003) and the Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program ($506,500 since 2006).¹⁵

Common Cause has received funding from labor unions. Reports filed with the Department of Labor show that the Communications Workers of America spent over $55,000 on Common Cause, including $40,396 for “political activities.”¹⁶ In unions’ 2016 fiscal years, the California Nurses Association, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555, and the SEIU Illinois State Council all reported expenditure to Common Cause or a Common Cause affiliate.¹⁷

1. “Our Mission.” Common Cause. Accessed February 05, 2017. http://www.commoncause.org/states/delaware/about/our-mission/our-mission.html.
2. “Common Cause .” Discover the Networks. Accessed February 05, 2017. http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/printgroupProfile.asp?grpid=7610.
3. McFadden, Robert D. “John W. Gardner, 89, Founder of Common Cause and Adviser to Presidents, Dies.” The New Tork Times, February 18, 2002. https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/18/us/john-w-gardner-89-founder-of-common-cause-and-adviser-to-presidents-dies.html
4. “Common Cause.” Discover the Networks. Accessed February 05, 2017. http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/printgroupProfile.asp?grpid=7610.
5. “Common Cause.” Discover the Networks. Accessed February 05, 2017. http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/printgroupProfile.asp?grpid=7610.
6. Lucas, Barbara Joanna. “Uncommon Hypocrisy: Common Cause claims to seek good government but prefers big government.” Capital Research Center. May 2014 Accessed February 05, 2017. https://capitalresearch.org/article/commoncause/.
7. “About Chellie.” Congresswoman Chellie Pingree. March 02, 2017. Accessed March 28, 2017. https://pingree.house.gov/about-chellie.
8. Report, Courant Staff. “Common Cause Taps Former Connecticut Director As National President.” Courant.com. June 13, 2016. Accessed February 05, 2017. http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-karen-hobert-flynn-common-cause-president-20160613-story.html.
9. Blumenthal, Paul. “Here’s Where Campaign Finance Reform May Move Ahead As Congress Dithers.” The Huffington Post. Accessed February 05, 2017. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/20/campaign-finance-reform-states_n_6357182.html.
10. Lucas, Barbara Joanna. “Uncommon Hypocrisy: Common Cause claims to seek good government but prefers big government.” Capital Research Center. May 2014. Accessed February 05, 2017. https://capitalresearch.org/article/commoncause/.
11. “Common Cause .” Discover the Networks. Accessed February 05, 2017. http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/printgroupProfile.asp?grpid=7610
12. “Call your senators: Stop Jeff Sessions.” Common Cause. Accessed February 05, 2017. https://secure2.convio.net/comcau/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1871.
13. “Nonpartisan Volunteers To Stop Voter Suppression.” Election Protection, August 28, 2020. https://protectthevote.net/about/.
14. Miller, Christopher. “This Is How Thousands Of Americans Are Preparing To Take On Trump If He Refuses To Leave Office.” BuzzFeed News. BuzzFeed News, October 23, 2020. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/christopherm51/trump-not-leaving-office-progressive-groups-challenge.
15. Lucas, Barbara Joanna. “Uncommon Hypocrisy: Common Cause claims to seek good government but prefers big government.” Capital Research Center. May 2014. Accessed February 05, 2017. https://capitalresearch.org/article/commoncause/
16. Communications Workers of America, Annual Report of a Labor Organization (Form LM-2), 2014, Schedules 15 and 16
17. Author’s analysis of Annual Reports of a Labor Organization (Forms LM-2) from 2016, maintained by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Labor-Management Standards. Queries conducted March 28, 2017.