Billion Dollar Democracy is the final edition in our series of reports analyzing the role of money in the 2012 elections. The first presidential election since Citizens United lived up to the hype, with outside groups blowing away previous records for spending. Our discourse got more negative than ever before, with secret organizations allowing anonymous donors to bankroll nasty attack ads. Regular people's voices were drowned out of the process, with big time mega-donors spending millions in their attempt to buy our democracy. Just 32 mega-donors to Super PACs, giving $9.9 million each, matched the entire contribution of all 3.7 million regular Americans who made small donations to the Obama and Romney campaigns. Special interest gained more power and more access, making it less likely that our government will truly be "of, by, and for the people."
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