We're making progress! Constitutional amendment update: Vermont vote and upcoming events
By Heather Arkwright
The fight to restore democracy by taking it back from the hands of wealthy corporate interests continues, and Public Citizen is excited to report some victories and upcoming events.
After the disastrous 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling, which allowed corporations to pour unlimited amounts of money into political campaigns to influence elections, a grassroots movement, spearheaded by Public Citizen and other organizations, has grown that calls for a constitutional amendment to overturn the ruling.
As part of that, Public Citizen President Robert Weissman and Mark Hays, campaign coordinator for Public Citizen’s Democracy Is For People Campaign, are speaking Saturday at a conference organized by Occupy DC, called “How to Get Money Out of Politics Through Cross-Partisan Citizen Movements.” The conference will feature former Louisiana Gov. and presidential candidate Buddy Roemer and the national field director at Americans for Campaign Reform, Rob Werner.
And next Wednesday, a congressional summit is taking place in Washington, D.C., in which lawmakers and activist organizations stand together to demand an end to corporate dominance of political campaigns. Sponsors of the constitutional amendment, senators, representatives, and spokespeople from activist organizations will discuss their commitment to getting corporate money out of politics. (Public Citizen President Robert Weissman will be a co-moderator for the organizational speakers.) The summit will focus on the information and tools necessary to build and strengthen the movement at the local, state, and national level that drives at change. Check out this link if you’re interested in joining us at the summit!
Already, Hawaii and New Mexico have passed resolution supporting a constitutional amendment. The latest victory came earlier this week in the Vermont Senate, which voted Wednesday to support a constitutional amendment. Later this month, the Vermont House is slated to chime in. We strongly urge the House to follow the Senate and approve the measure.
The action in Vermont is just one more demonstration of the American public’s dissatisfaction with corporate greed crowding out democracy, and our voices will be heard.
To help harness this momentum, Public Citizen’s Democracy Is For People campaign is organizing Resolutions Week, a nationwide push in which local activists will simultaneously contact their council members and demand a resolution to overturn Citizens United. So far, more than 5,400 people in all 50 states have jumped on board and committed to push for local resolutions. Read more about Resolutions Week.
Get involved. Be a part of the change that is sweeping across America. Visit the Resolutions Week page and find out what you can do to help restore democracy.
Things are happening. Momentum is growing. But Public Citizen will not rest until every voice is heard and democracy is fully restored.