Saturday, November 17, 2012

Grassroots Bipartisanship 4

Who does not believe that our nation spent far too much money on the recent political campaigns by both parties? Who does not think money is a powerful corrupting influence on government, especially at the federal and state levels? And who does not wish we could do something about it? Well, we are the people, and we can!

Fortunately a few highly creative people have started the ball rolling and now we have the opportunity to join in. At the moment I am most taken with the American Anti-Corruption Act written by former Federal Election Commission chairman Trevor Potter in consultation with dozens of strategists, democracy reform leaders and constitutional attorneys from across the political spectrum. Please consider becoming a citizen cosponsor of the act. Then watch this powerful video and read more about the movement at Represent.Us.

(Update: I pledged to get "Citizen Co-Sponsors" for a new law that will force politicians to REPRESENT US. Will you help me?)

For some time now I have been following (and supporting) Move to Amend, a coalition of hundreds of organizations and tens of thousands of individuals "committed to social and economic justice, ending corporate rule, and building a vibrant democracy that is genuinely accountable to the people, not corporate interests." We (I included) are calling for an amendment to the US Constitution to unequivocally state that "inalienable rights belong to human beings only, and that money is not a form of protected free speech under the First Amendment and can be regulated in political campaigns."

A group with which I have become familiar only recently is Fund for the Republic. The board is impressive and diverse, and its statement of purpose reassuring :

We are a new nonprofit philanthropic venture and are nonpartisan — this cause is about country, not party. We hope to catalyze reform, identifying and assisting those new to the cause, helping them understand and navigate a complex terrain of strategies and opportunities, and providing analysis of what works and what doesn't. We are committed to collaboration and will be diligent about identifying collective opportunities, supporting the best existing efforts, and avoiding duplication with funders and NGOs alike.

One arm of Fund for the Republic is RootStrikers, "a network of activists fighting the corrupting influence of money in politics," founded by Lawrence Lessig. The name comes from a quote from Thereau: "There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root." Together, we must strike at the root of America's problems.

Another participant in this broad coalition is united re:rublic, Josh Silver, CEO, and its principle project is Get the Money Out with goals quite similar to Move to Amend. Two additional movements promoting campaign finance reform are NoLabels.org and the CoffeePartyUSA.

Some of my friends may object that these movements are thinly veiled fronts for a liberal agenda because they would restrict the influence of individuals like Karl Rove, Sheldon Adelson, Donald Trump, the Koch brothers, and others at the conservative end of the spectrum. But the undue influence of big money is not limited to these individuals and their party, not by a long shot. In many races across the country this last cycle Democrats outspent their Republican opponents. The charters of all the organizations above specifically emphasize non-partisanship, and they all have substantial bipartisan support. "When the people lead, the leaders will follow."

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