There is no doubt that BP, Wall Street, the health care industry, and other big corporations continue to do untold harm to all of us. Because members of Congress are dependent on these big money political donors, their votes in Congress too often reflect the interests of big business rather than the voices of ordinary Americans. The result includes record unemployment, disastrous harm to our environment, and the lack of needed reform and strong policies in health care, alternative energy, education, financial regulation, and more.
This situation has led to an unprecedented level of anger among the American people – ordinary citizens don’t want their government and their lives dominated by corporate wealth and greedy special interests. And now there is hope that we can do something about it.
We can take back control of our political system and make elected officials accountable to us. We can put American voters back in the driver’s seat with citizen-funded elections, where candidates for Congress only get funding if they share the values and concerns of the people back home. We can elect officials who will solve our problems and address our concerns, not those of wealthy donors and their paid lobbyists. It’s not enough to rail at Washington. We need to replace corporate-funded elections with Fair Elections.
And right now we have the chance. There are over 155 members of the House of Representatives who have co-sponsored a bill that would change the way campaigns are financed. This reflects a ground swell of support for the Congressional Fair Elections Act, a bill that would allow candidates for Congress to run with a combination of small donations and public financing.
With Fair Elections ordinary citizens could run for office, candidates would not spend their time courting rich donors and special interests, and politicians would work for us! The cost would be paid for by a tax on corporations with large federal contracts.
We need your help to bring this important bill to a vote this summer.
You can help end legalized bribery dressed up as campaign contributions from big business. Call or write your House of Representative member and tell him or her you want them to put elections back into the hands of citizens by voting for Fair Elections!
To get involved in the critical fight for Fair Elections contact me at [email protected].