We need a government of, by, and for the people, not the corporations. So the fight goes on to replace corporate-funded elections with Fair Elections!
The bad news is that the latest attempt by Congress to block reform of the corporate domination of our political system occurred last week when the Senate Republicans killed the DISCLOSE bill. In fact, DISCLOSE was a very weak response to the recent Supreme Court decision that corporations could spend unlimited money from their treasuries on political speech, but even this was blocked. (DISCLOSE would have mandated that ads paid for by corporations include, i.e., disclose, information about who actually paid for the ad).
But the good news is that this makes it even more urgent that Congress pass a real reform bill, the Fair Elections Now Act. Fair Elections would allow ordinary Americans to run for Congress without depending on big corporate donations. Instead, Fair Elections would enable them to qualify for a Fair Elections grant, TV vouchers, and collect small private donations of no more than $100 that would be matched with Fair Elections dollars 4-1.
A recent national poll showed how popular this reform is! A majority of Americans across all regions and across party lines supported the need for Fair Elections to reduce the impact of special interest money on elections. Large majorities agreed that Congress should be accountable to us, that government should work for working Americans, and that the voices of ordinary people need to be heard, not the lobbyists. They supported Fair Elections for these reasons.
You can help by writing to your Congressional representatives, urging them to support the Fair Elections Now Act. And join with MoveOn.org and others on Tuesday, August 10th at a rally near you to endorse Fair Elections and fight Washington corruption. Click here and put in your zip code to find the closest rally.
We will win this fight because fairness, justice and democracy depend on it. Join us today!
Joan Mandle
Special Projects
Citizen Action of New York