Our principles.
“A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy… Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”
The Hume Institute for Political Influence Research believes that representative democracy requires an informed citizenry, and the people are entitled to ask, and to answer, one question: whom does my representative serve?
Not because political money is illegitimate. It isn't. Political spending can't be easily separated from political speech. And the First Amendment protects this right. We defend free speech, thought, and association without apology, including for those we disagree with, and don't believe that any legislation, however comprehensive, can ever remove money from politics. As long as government continues to make up nearly a quarter of economic activity, money will seek influence regardless of the law. Prohibition only moves this activity into the shadows and bolsters the efforts of those who can find loopholes or don't mind ignoring regulation, creating unintended consequences. No individual or group should feel entitled to wield political influence in secrecy. If your goal is to influence elections and public policy, we believe the public has a right to know about it.
Disclosure is the constitutional bargain America struck. For fifty years, judges have struck down restriction after restriction on political spending as burdens on free speech, and in the same opinions, justices of every disposition have upheld disclosure. Transparency is the least restrictive answer a free society has to the problem of influence: it regulates nothing, silences no one, and informs everyone. Sunlight, not censorship.
What we believe
-
Transparency, not restriction.
Political spending is constitutionally protected speech. Those who attempt to influence government should do so in the open.
-
Nonpartisan by design.
Our data doesn't have a political affiliation, and neither do we. We apply identical methods to every party, PAC, donor, and officeholder, and we publish our methodology so anyone can check our work.
-
Precision over insinuation.
Conspiracy is the byproduct of ignorance and confusion. Verification and an open discourse are the antidote. Intellectual humility is a core value of our work, and we readily accept the facts when we're proven wrong.
-
Free inquiry, free speech, and pluralism.
These are among the highest values a society can hold. Disclosure should foster accountability, not chill participation, enable harassment of individuals or groups, or shame lawful giving. We present public records in context and with care, because a disclosure regime that citizens distrust is a disclosure regime that fails.
-
A republic runs on information.
Self-government requires competent institutions, and functioning institutions require an informed public. As local and investigative journalism continues to decline and is replaced by bias-confirming sources, citizens must depend on themselves to separate fact from fiction. We share our tools and analysis so reporters, researchers, and citizens can do more with less.
The Institute takes its name from David Hume, the great Scottish philosopher, historian, and economist of the Enlightenment. His deep commitment to freedom and empiricism inspires our work.
In Hume's words
“In all governments, there is a perpetual intestine struggle, open or secret, between Authority and Liberty; and neither of them can ever absolutely prevail in the contest.”
“Nothing is more apt to surprize a foreigner, than the extreme liberty, which we enjoy in this country, of communicating whatever we please to the public, and of openly censuring every measure entered into by the king or his ministers.”