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Corporations already have too much control over American political discourse, and that problem will only get worse thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in the Citizens United case. Adam B posted excerpts from the decision and the dissents.
It is time for everyone to drop all the talk about the Roberts court's "judicial minimalism," with Chief Justice Roberts as an "umpire" who just calls balls and strikes. Make no mistake, this is an activist court that is well on its way to recrafting constitutional law in its image. The best example of that is this morning's transformative opinion in Citizens United v. FEC. Today the court struck down decades-old limits on corporate and union spending in elections (including judicial elections) and opened up our political system to a money free-for-all.
The Des Moines Register assessed the impact on Iowa law, suggesting that our state may not be able to continue to ban corporate campaign contributions. (I thought this ruling pertained to independent expenditures by corporations, not direct corporate donations to candidates.) Kathie Obradovich collected some comments from Iowa politicians. Democrats slammed the ruling--not that they've accomplished anything on campaign finance reform since taking power.
All in all, a depressing day for our sorry excuse for a democracy. Any relevant comments are welcome in this thread.
"I have introduced this important legislation because the Supreme Court's ruling strikes at the very core of democracy in the United States by inflating the speech rights of large, faceless corporations to the same level of hard-working, every day Americans," Boswell said in a statement. "The court's elevation of corporate speech inevitably overpowers the speech and interests of human citizens who do not have the coffers to speak as loudly."
Boswell said House Joint Resolution 68 would disallow a corporation or labor organization from using any operating funds or any other funds from its general treasury to pay for an advertisement in connection with a federal election campaign, regardless of whether or not the advertisement expressly advocates the election or defeat of a specified candidate.
"Corporations already have an active role in American political discourse through million-dollar political action committees and personal donations to campaigns," Boswell said. "The legislation I introduced will prevent the Wall Street corporations that received billions in taxpayer bailout dollars from turning around and pouring that same money into candidates that will prevent financial regulation on their industry. No American should have to turn on the TV and see AIG telling them how to vote."
Hot topics on this blog during the second half of the year included the governor's race, the special election in Iowa House district 90, candidates announcing plans to run for the state legislature next year, the growing number of Republicans ready to challenge Representative Leonard Boswell, state budget constraints, and a scandal involving the tax credit for film-making.
I expected 2009 to be a relatively quiet year in Iowa politics, but was I ever wrong.
The governor's race heated up, state revenues melted down, key bills lived and died during the legislative session, and the Iowa Supreme Court's unanimous ruling in Varnum v Brien became one of this state's major events of the decade.
After the jump I've posted links to Bleeding Heartland's coverage of Iowa politics from January through June 2009. Any comments about the year that passed are welcome in this thread.
Although I wrote a lot of posts last year, there were many important stories I didn't manage to cover. I recommend reading Iowa Independent's compilation of "Iowa's most overlooked and under reported stories of 2009," as well as that blog's review of "stories that will continue to impact Iowa in 2010."
For three decades, Iowa CCI has built and maintained remarkable rural-urban coalitions to fight factory farms, urban blight and abuses of Latino and Asian immigrants. In the current financial crisis, the group has ramped up its activism on behalf of banking reforms that free up credit for small farms, businesses and families while cracking down on payday loan operations. When the American Bankers Association held its annual convention in Chicago, National People's Action called for protests that declared, "We didn't break the banks--the big banks broke us!" Iowa CCI, long a backbone member of the NPA coalition, showed up in force. Viewers of Amy Goodman's Democracy Now! got a flavor of the group's in-your-face activism as Iowa farmer Larry Ginter brought activists from across the country to their feet with his cry, "If you are from rural America and tired of bank greed, stand up! If you are from urban America and you're tired of bank greed, stand up! If you think it's time to put people first and hold banks accountable, stand up!"
Until last week, the money raised to support Terry Branstad as a gubernatorial candidate was hidden in the bank accounts of two 527 groups: the Iowa First Foundation and the Draft Branstad PAC. Now that Branstad has formed an exploratory committee, I expect we'll soon see a press release about eye-popping early money raised for his campaign. Major Republican donors were key players in the effort to lure the former governor back into politics.
While Branstad's signing all those thank-you notes to Republicans, he may as well acknowledge three Democrats who have helped him raise the big bucks: Governor Chet Culver, Iowa House Speaker Pat Murphy, and Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal. Branstad wouldn't be able to accept those $25,000 and $50,000 checks if Democrats had passed meaningful campaign finance reform during the past three years.
Groups that throw receptions for Iowa legislators are supposed to file a disclosure report within five business days of the event, but the Iowa Pharmacy Association filed paperwork for its February 10 reception only this week. Why now? Journalists have been asking about the event that preceded State Representative Kerry Burt's drunk driving arrest around 2 am on February 11. Burt told an Ankeny police officer that he'd been drinking with the governor that evening.
I agree with Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement; the Iowa Pharmacy Association's disclosure violation once again demonstrates the need for campaign finance reform. I've posted a press release from Iowa CCI after the jump. Excerpt:
Several years ago, state lawmakers voted to strip oversight powers from the nonpartisan State Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board and task the House and Senate Ethics Committees with oversight responsibilities. Since then, the number of reported filings have gone down, as has the amount of money spent at lobbying events.
"What other profession in the state is allowed to regulate themselves," asks Ed Rethman, Iowa CCI member from West Des Moines. "Are doctors allowed to license themselves?"
The Des Moines Register reported in April that many interest groups are providing free food and drink to legislators without properly disclosing how much they spend on these events. Usually, the public never finds out about these events, because no one gets arrested afterwards.
The nation's largest insurers, hospitals and medical groups have hired more than 350 former government staff members and retired members of Congress in hopes of influencing their old bosses and colleagues, according to an analysis of lobbying disclosures and other records. [...]
Nearly half of the insiders previously worked for the key committees and lawmakers, including Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), debating whether to adopt a public insurance option opposed by major industry groups. At least 10 others have been members of Congress, such as former House majority leaders Richard K. Armey (R-Tex.) and Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.), both of whom represent a New Jersey pharmaceutical firm.
The hirings are part of a record-breaking influence campaign by the health-care industry, which is spending more than $1.4 million a day on lobbying in the current fight, according to disclosure records. And even in a city where lobbying is a part of life, the scale of the effort has drawn attention. For example, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) doubled its spending to nearly $7 million in the first quarter of 2009, followed by Pfizer, with more than $6 million.
That's on top of the millions of dollars the same corporate groups have donated directly to Congressional campaigns. Iowa's Senator Chuck Grassley has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from the industries with the most at stake in health care reform.
Governors rarely veto bills that pass out of the state legislature unanimously, as this one did. However, when Culver didn't sign Senate File 433 right away, I hoped he was seriously considering the advice of the Iowa Department of Elder Affairs and the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals. Both of those state agencies opposed the bill.
Instead of listening to the public officials who have the most in-depth knowledge of nursing home regulations and violations, Culver sided with a corporate interest group:
Former state legislator John Tapscott, who now advocates for Iowa seniors, said the new law is an example of what the nursing home industry can buy with its campaign contributions.
"It only proves that our legislative leaders and governor are willing to sell out the most vulnerable of our citizens - the sick and elderly residing in nursing homes - for a few thousand campaign dollars," he said.
Click "there's more" to read about the substance of this bill and the winning strategy of the Iowa Health Care Association, which represents nursing homes. I couldn't have written this post without an outstanding series of reports by Clark Kauffman of the Des Moines Register last November (see also here and here).
A story in the Sunday Des Moines Register got me thinking about how money affects what happens and doesn't happen in the Iowa House and Senate. The gist of the article is that many interest groups are providing free food and drink to legislators without properly disclosing how much they spend on these events.
State officials concede the disclosure law is not enforced. Senate Ethics Committee Vice Chairman Dick Dearden, D-Des Moines, said he does not recall any organization ever being punished for not filing reception disclosures properly.
"I don't know if anyone ever checks them," Dearden said. [...]
Filings from groups that complied with the law show interest groups have spent $187,000 this year to arrange at least 66 events. That is about 4 percent less than was spent during last year's legislative session and 15 percent less than in 2007.
Reported spending on the legislative parties peaked at $264,000 in 2005, when the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board oversaw the disclosures.
Enforcement has since shifted to the House and Senate ethics committees, and reported spending has declined each year since. [...]
Tracking exactly which or how many organizations filed their reports properly is difficult because there is no master list of receptions and no state officials are charged with verifying the filings.
[Charlie] Smithson [executive director of the Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board] said groups were never punished for failing to file when his board oversaw the disclosures, but his staff reviewed the Legislature's social calendar regularly and reminded groups to send proper documents.
It's not encouraging to learn that no one is enforcing our disclosure rules. I know legislative receptions are probably not the most important way to buy political influence, but someone should be making groups comply with the rules.
After the jump I briefly examine a few of the ways an interest group with an agenda and a pile of cash could use that money. There's also a poll at the end--please vote!
On March 18 the Iowa House voted 96 to 0 to pass a bill banning candidates from using campaign funds to pay themselves or immediate family members a salary. This measure closes the so-called "Ed Fallon loophole," named because Fallon received $13,750 from his gubernatorial campaign between June and November 2006 after losing the Democratic primary.
Looking at the text of Senate File 50, I noticed that it defines "immediate family member" as "the spouse or dependent child of a candidate."
I've been told that at least 20 members of the Iowa House (including Democrats and Republicans) employ either their spouse or child as a clerk. Apparently it is fine for spouses and children of state legislators to draw a salary from taxpayer dollars, but it becomes a terrible ethical problem for a candidate to draw a salary from money voluntarily contributed by supporters.
I have more to say about this farcical bill after the jump.
Trust me, Bleeding Heartland's resident troll won't be the only one to use this convergence to push Republican talking points about Democrats no longer being the party of working people.
Last week Iowa legislative leaders appeared at a forum organized by Iowa Politics, and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy characterized the Voter-Owned Iowa Clean Elections bill as "flat-out bad":
It would cause taxpayer money to rain down in districts where candidates typically spend far less on campaigns, and would cause corporations to control the parties, he said. Meaningful reform should come from federal lawmakers clamping down on political committees such as 501(c)4 groups that can raise unlimited money and use it to influence campaigns, he said.
Sure, because it doesn't look "flat-out bad" for Democrats to schedule high-priced fundraisers while most families are tightening their belts.
Of course, the real problem with our current system of funding politicians isn't the lousy optics, it's how narrow interests are able to push through bad bills or block legislation that is in the public interest and has broad bipartisan support.
McCarthy also claimed that under VOICE, corporations would "control the parties" through their contributions. Currently, corporate contributions to candidates are prohibited in Iowa, and would remain banned under VOICE. However, Iowa is one of only 13 states that have no limit on what any one individual can contribute to a candidate for public office.
In fact, McCarthy took a total of $90,000 in contributions from five individuals from out of state in 2008, and all the reports aren't even in yet. And, $351,815 of his $652,205 came directly from Political Action Committees (PACs) representing special interests. States that have systems for publicly financed elections similar to VOICE, like Arizona, Maine, and Connecticut, have not seen an influx in 527 or PAC activity trying to influence elections. Rather, more candidates are running for office, including women and minorities. And, although these kinds of groups are already here in Iowa, CCI and other organizations last year worked for and passed legislation to force 527s to report their in-state activities. This has allowed the public to see who is contributing to organizations that try to influence our public elections.
McCarthy also claimed that VOICE would cause candidates to become lazy, "Which is absurd," said CCI member Alice Bryan of Des Moines. "VOICE candidates will actually have to work harder, going door to door meeting constituents, rather than dialing for dollars and relying on slick mailers and TV ads. A VOICE candidate who agrees to limit their spending would truly represent their constituents, not the special interests that fund campaigns."
Public Campaign has created an online petition you can sign if you want to tell McCarthy that "VOICE would make elections in Iowa about voters and not campaign donors."
to kick off the legislative session and push for VOICE, local control of factory farms, keeping families in their homes and protecting the rights of all workers.
Blagojevich is a menace and needs to go to the gated community where other Illinois governors before him have gone. But America's campaign-finance system is a far greater menace to democracy. If we can muster shock and disgust for Blagojevich, we should be utterly appalled at the pervasive role of money in politics.
Face it. What we call "elections" have become auctions. The auctioning of U.S. Senate seats occurs every six years - every two years for congressional and state legislative seats. Big donors, corporations and special interests "bid" on the candidate of their choice. In close races, the smart money bids on both candidates, and the one backed by the highest bidders usually wins.
We don't want to believe our elected officials can be bought. But as someone who served for 14 years in the Iowa House, I say with confidence that what big money wants, big money usually gets. Rank-and-file lawmakers may be well-intentioned but often are strong-armed by legislative leaders beholden to corporate donors and special interests. As a result, the most pressing challenges of our time - climate change, budgetary reform, health care, farm policy, to name a few - see practically no progress year after year.
So, while I hope the good people of Illinois fire Blagojevich and fire him soon, I have a more pressing hope that Americans across the country get fired up for campaign-finance reform. In Iowa, Senator-elect Pam Jochum is leading the charge on VOICE (Voter-Owned Iowa Clean Elections). This bill would make it easier for rank-and-file lawmakers to stand up to party leaders, allow more citizens to run for office and give the public far greater access to the halls of power.
Well-heeled interest groups, businesses and some government agencies spent nearly $195,000 wining and dining lawmakers and their staffers during this year’s legislative session, according to new financial disclosure forms.
Groups ranging from the Iowa State Bar Association and the Greater Des Moines Partnership to Union Pacific spent a total of $194,848 on receptions, dinners and other social events during this year’s session, according to reports filed with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board.
Some of the groups that spent the most were the Iowa Business Council, The Principal Financial Group, Iowa Gaming Association, the Iowa Wholesale Beer Dealers Association, and Hy-Vee Inc.
Now when you look at some of the big issues that were debated by lawmakers this past session you can see why these groups were so interested. These issues include: changes to collective bargaining, expanding health care to uninsured children, if casinos would be included in the smoking ban or not, and the expansion the bottle bill.
The article goes on to tell about the dramatic influence lobbyists and PAC's have on lawmakers and helping them get elected.
Disclosure reports for the year ending last June 30 showed that there were 610 groups who paid lobbyists a total of more than $8.5 million to influence lawmakers.
That financial influence was also shown in political action committee disclosures filed this month, with PACs having already given $872,509 to candidates this year.
I don't think I have heard a better reason for the need for clean elections and campaign finance reform in Iowa. Yet, political leaders refuse to allow the VOICE bill to come up for a vote. The VOICE legislation would bring voluntary clean elections to Iowa.
I'd love to sit down for dinner with Governor Culver, Sen. Gronstal, Rep. Murphy, and Rep. McCarthy and talk about the benefits of the VOICE bill, but I don't think I have enough money to afford it.
"I think one of the problems that John McCain has is that his grandfather was an admiral, his father was an admiral," Harkin said on a conference call with Iowa Independent and other media. "He comes from a long line of just military people. I think his whole world view, his life view, has been shaped from a military viewpoint and he has a hard time of thinking beyond that. And I think he's trapped in that, so everything is looked at sort of from his life experiences as always having been in the military and I think that can be pretty dangerous."
I see what Harkin is getting at--McCain's background makes him unlikely to get us out of Iraq and perhaps more likely to get us involved in other wars. Still, I don't think this is good messaging against McCain. Americans are not going to reject his candidacy because he comes from too military of a family.
But for those who are tired of talking about McCain's anger management problem, I offer ten more reasons not to support the GOP nominee:
1. Mr. Straight Talk can't keep his story straight when it comes to Iraq, the economy, tax cuts or other issues. Brave New Films shows you the evidence in "The Real McCain 2":
McCain's campaign has fired at least six employees this month because of their lobbying ties, including his national finance co-chairman Tom Loeffler, whose firm collected millions from Saudi Arabia and other foreign governments.
* Ahmed Chalabi, the smooth talking Iraqi exile who helped manufacture the WMD charges against Saddam Hussien that led the U.S. to invade.
* Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, found guilty of torture, executions, disappearances, and human rights violations, who hired Black to "improve" his image in the U.S.
* Somali dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, who's army massacred between 40,000 and 50,000 civilians in two years.
* Dictator Mobuto Sese Seko of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), who amassed a vast personal fortune and repressed rival political parties while his country's children starved.
* Angolan rebel leader Jonas Savimbi of UNITA, an ally of apartheid-era South Africa, who started a civil war which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and ordered the torture and murder of countless opponents.
* Nigerian Dictator Ibrahim Babangida ran a one-party regime, who arrested his opponents, and murdered journalists.
Why should you care? Because in the past Cindy McCain had business dealings with a crook whom Senator McCain helped bail out. We need to know if similar conflicts of interest exist today.
4. McCain's campaign has underpaid for the use of his wife's corporate jet, even though the self-styled campaign finance reformer has backed legislation that would require candidates to pay the real costs of using corporate jets.
6. McCain is running for president on his "vast experience," but he keeps confusing Sunnis with Shiites, even after being corrected by his buddy Joe Lieberman.
The Senator has long touted his opposition to Roe, and has voted for every one of Bush's judicial appointments; the rhetoric of his speech shows that he is getting his advice on the Court from the most extreme elements of the conservative movement.
9. McCain's campaign has been bashing Obama for supposedly being willing to negotiate with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, but McCain said two years ago that the U.S. would have to engage Hamas if that group were running the Palestinian government.
By the way, McCain's continuing problem with fundraising suggests that a lot of Republicans have their own reasons for not supporting the GOP nominee.
It's incredible to think that even after a campaign that dragged on for months longer than the Republican nominating battle, the Democratic nominee is likely to have a financial edge over McCain this fall.
Feel free to post comments about other reasons not to support McCain that I've left out.
It's hard to keep up with all the reasons to oppose John McCain. Last night I wrote about his opposition to a bill that would make it easier for victims of job discrimination to seek legal redress.
Meanwhile, I learned from this diary by TomP that Friends of the Earth Action is running an ad against McCain on CNN. The ad highlights McCain's support for the nuclear power industry:
TomP's diary also includes this great quote from Friends of the Earth Action president Dr. Brent Blackwalder:
You know how self righteous John McCain can be when he talks about corporate pork and earmarks, but do you know why he opposes the Lieberman-Warner global warming bill? He plans to vote against it not because it could lavish $1 trillion on the profitable oil, gas and coal industries, but because he wants to add hundreds of billions of dollars more in earmarks for the nuclear industry!
[r]aise oil company profits by another 18 cents per gallon -- by eliminating the federal gas tax without guaranteeing that Big Oil won't just keep prices high and take the difference to grow their record profits even more.
The best way to deal with high gas prices is to cut, not expand, giveaways to Big Oil. Please vote to end taxpayer-funded subsidies and tax breaks for Big Oil and use that money to invest in clean, renewable energy.
Earlier this week, I got the latest newsletter from Smart Growth America, which also blasted McCain's proposal to declare a summer holiday from the federal gas tax:
An artificial and temporary reduction of gas prices will simply guarantee that absolutely no money goes towards having suitable roads and bridges for those filled-up cars to drive on - not to mention alternatives to congestion, like commuter rail and transit. Instead, we can send the full price of gasoline directly into the pockets of oil companies. (An estimated $10 billion in transportation revenue would be lost, or enough to fully fund Amtrak rail service for 6 years or so.) Meanwhile, we fall farther behind in maintaining our infrastructure: Rust doesn't take the summer off.
But that's not all. To coincide with McCain's photo-op in New Orleans' Ninth Ward today, Moveon.org Political Action launched its own online petition calling on McCain to reject the endorsement of right-wing pastor John Hagee. I knew about Hagee's anti-Catholic bigotry, but I wasn't aware that Hagee once said, "Hurricane Katrina was, in fact, the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans."
Surely there couldn't be any more shameful news about McCain to emerge within this 24-hour period, right? Wrong. I learned from Natasha Chart's post at MyDD today that during a recent visit to Alabama, McCain's campaign used free prison labor to get out of paying to set up for a private fundraiser.
I guess a campaign that is way behind its Democratic rivals in fundraising has to save money wherever it can.
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (ICCI) is holding its lobby day at the State Capitol on Tuesday, January 29.
The main issues on the agenda are local control over siting of confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and the Voter-Owned Iowa Clean Elections bill, which would create a voluntary public-financing option for state elections.
Here is the agenda for the day:
10:30-11:15 - Rally and Legislators addressing crowd
• Purpose- To persuade all Americans that a $1 contribution from any U.S. citizen is all that is necessary to fund a responsible political campaign and more than what’s necessary corrupts and excludes most American voters.
• Thesis- Large campaign contributions have always corrupted American politics and excluded the voices of most Americans. If we allow for only $1 campaign contributions all Americans can become equally invested in our political system and at the same time reduce political corruption.
• Goal- Less money more votes
INTRODUCTION Free speech is not enough; a democracy that speaks for everyone requires equal speech as much as it requires free speech. Freedom without equality corrupts and corrodes democracy. When we give or take more than other Americans can give we discriminate against and exclude these Americans,we corrupt our democracy and corrode their trust and confidence in the American dream. To exclude any American is to oppress them; exclusion is oppression, whether by neglect or intent. When there is no equality between votes and money democracy is corrupted. “For our democracy to survive and thrive, we need to bring more people, particularly low- and moderate-income people, into the democratic process.”(Raby, 1992) By allowing for only $1 contributions to each political campaignall Americans can become equally invested, included and engaged in our political system and at the same time end this corrupting, corrosive and exclusionary oppression.
1.To introduce and help support this goal I developeda fundraising web site called $1 Democracy on ActBlue for John Edwards and other candidates who also support campaign finance reform and believe that large contributions are corrupting the political process. On the Web site I will be asking for $1 contributions from everyone, but I will not accept more than a $1 contribution from anyone. A. The focus of the fundraiseris that a $1 contribution from each of us is all that is necessaryto fund a responsible political campaign,and more than what’s necessary corrupts and excludes.
2. Why am I asking for only $1? Dillman (1999) reveals that in survey studies where participants were paid only $1, compared to others who were paid $10 and $25, had a much higher completion rate. A.The higher paid participants would quit after they felt they had done $10 or $25 dollars worth of work, expressing a financial contract between themselves and those paying for the survey. Whereas,those paid only $1 felt no financial contract, but rather a stronger more personal social contract with those paying for the surveys. The participants felt they gave their word,which for most people is stronger or worth more than $10 or $25 or just money in general, this is what motivated them to finish the survey. B.The accepted $1 was only a symbol of their personal commitment, their word, not a financial contract, leading them to become more personally invested in the project. This is one of the reasons why I want all of us to give $1 and no more than $1, why we should all begin asking others to give or take no more than $1 in any political campaign. We all must work towards a more personal less financial commitment between political candidates and contributors.
3. To help this fundraising project get off the ground I will need to find and target likely supporters. According to Zandl (1992), targeting likely supporters is important in developing any organization or offering a novel product. A.For this reasonI am going to run my fundraising campaign on the internet where past fundraising campaigns have been successful. Past fundraising activities have highlighted and brought in many new political contributors who are looking for both campaign and political reform. B.I believe my campaign finance reform message will appeal to these voters/contributors, give them a plan of action they can participate in right now and a concrete, specific campaign finance reform objective to work towards in the future.
4. Let’s now look at how unequal campaign contributions are. According to Weiss (2002), less than 0.1% of the U.S. population gave 83% of all itemized campaign contributions for the 2002 elections. During the 2000 presidential election cycle just over 600,000 people 0.37% of the population gave itemized contributions, indicating contributions of $200 or more. Of the $872 million raised in that election year $728 million came from those giving $1,000 or more. A.This shows that the vast majority of Americans are excluded from any meaningful financial investment in our current political system. B.To exclude any American is to oppress them;exclusion is oppression,whether by neglect or intent and is a form of political discrimination.
CONCLUSION The plan of actionis for all Americans interested in campaign finance reform to contribute $1, and no more than $1, to the John Edwards for President Campaign to support his fight against powerful financial interests that are corrupting American politics. If you support another candidate I encourage you to contribute $1 to that candidate, but no more than $1,and express to this candidate that you believe $1 from any American is all that is necessary and more than what’s necessary corrupts and excludes.I want all Americans to join together in the belief that when we contribute $1 to our candidate of choice we create a stronger more personal social contract with that candidate than when we contribute more than $1, which leads to a weaker less personal financial contract. In addition, I want each of us to contribute $1 so we feel equally invested, engaged and included in the political process; it is this connection that provides the energy necessary to achieve social and political change. The US census Bureau (2004) shows the majority of people who register to vote actually vote, showing thatonce people get themselves included in the political process they will consistently participate within it.
So what’s the best thing about contributing $1 to the John Edwards for President Campaign? You get change back from your dollar.
Please contribute $1to the candidate(s) of your choice. Please leave a tip for ActBlue so they can continue their fundraising work. Less money more votes is the answer to campaign finance reform.
References Weiss, S. (2002, December). Big-time donors small in number. (Online), 11/23/07. www.opensecrets.org (2004). Reported rates of voting and registration: 1996 to 2004. (Online), 11/23/07. www.uscensusbureau.gov Dillman, D. (1999, December). Mail and internet surveys: The tailored design method. New York: Wiley Zandl, I. (1992). Targeting the trendsetting consumer: How to market your product or service to influential buyers. Homewood, ILL: Business One Irwin Raby, A. (1992). Bringing voting to the people. In K.M. Arrington, & W.L. Taylor (Eds.), Voting rights in america (pp. 195-204). Washington, D.C.: Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
David Donnelly of the Public Campaign Action Fund sent out this very disturbing e-mail today:
Dear [desmoinesdem],
Cable giant Insight Communications pulled our new ad on Mitch McConnell at the 11th hour last night. Insight's executives have donated $17,000 to McConnell. Now they are helping him even more by engaging in political censorship to keep this ad, which criticizes McConnell for his special interest politics, off the air.
Sign this petition to tell Insight Communications that you won't stand for political censorship.
All the other broadcast networks, including NBC, ABC, and CBS and another cable system are running the ad after reviewing its content for accuracy. Why won't Insight air it?
And what role did Insight lobbyist Keith Hall or Insight CEO Mike Willner, both McConnell donors and allies and big players in the national cable industry, play in making this decision to censor the ad?
We need answers to these questions and we need your help to hold cable giant Insight accountable for political censorship, which is a blatant move to help out their favorite big money politician, Mitch McConnell. Their decision to pull the ad at the last minute, and give us no notice or opportunity to respond to their concerns, is highly irregular and reeks of a potent witch's brew of big money donors, lobbyists with connections, unaccountable big media, and a powerful Senator.
High-powered lobbyists and moneyed special interests already dominate campaigns and political debate in this country -- when they try and censor ads that draw attention to this disparity they must be held to account. If big money politicians and big media win, we all lose. Only in the narrowest sense is this is a fight about whether our ad runs. At its core, it's a fight about freedom of speech.
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