Posts Tagged ‘Citizens United’

February8

Your money, your vote

By: Kelly Ngo

The Citizens United decision gave corporations unprecedented power to influence our elections. Sure corporations have been able to bully politicians for ages through lobbying and direct campaign giving, but never before has it been so easy for a corporation to impact who gets elected. Now, corporations can pump millions of dollars into either SuperPACs, non-profits, or trade associations that play in politics, and if they play their cards right it can be done entirely in secret.

Fortunately, many corporations are coming to realize that this type of spending might have repercussions and are changing their policies. So far, Twenty-four companies in the S&P100 do not make independent political donations, and fifty-seven companies either have board oversight or disclosure of political spending. These are steps in the right direction, but more needs to be done.money

On Jan. 9 the Coalition for Accountability in Political Spending (CAPS) sent out a letter to the 20 least transparent companies in the S&P500 asking them to disclose their contributions to SuperPACs, 527s, etc. in a timely fashion. They were met with complete silence.

Breaking their silence by ending secret corporate spending in politics is exactly what the Corporate Reform Coalition is all about. The coalition is made up of institutional investors, public officials, academics and good governance groups working to reign in corporate spending. The coalition works to protect shareholders by promoting legislation, regulatory action and company policy changes around political spending. After all, in a publicly traded company the money belongs to shareholders, and so why shouldn’t they know how it’s being spent? What if you personally donated $20 to a campaign only to find that your 401k is linked to a company that donated $200,000 to the other guy? That’s not what your money was there to do, it’s not what you want your money to do, but hey, Corporation X didn’t ask you.

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Posted in: Activism, Campaign Finance, Uncategorized0 comments

January27

Citizens Ignited: The movement for the 28th amendment steps out

By: Sean Siperstein

THIS is what democracy looks like. And more specifically, what American patriots throughout the nation, determined to renew our democracy and reclaim it from the auction block, look like.

Click the image above to play our YouTube video!

Marking the two-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which opened the floodgates to unlimited corporate spending in our elections, the rapidly growing movement to fight back with a 28th Amendment to the Constitution has seriously stepped out into the national spotlight.

Thousands of Americans, in nearly every state turned out for over 350 events to “celebrate” the anniversary of the Court’s disastrous ruling and the resulting unprecedented leverage of corporate power over politicians. And from courthouse steps to corporate offices, from mock arrests and funerals to rousing rallies to teach-ins and simple one-on-one engagement with neighbors, the (cold) air was thick with the spirit of people-powered democracy that they’d prefer to raise up instead.

Indeed, this wasn’t just another series of protests and demonstrations, but a chance to turn Citizens United into a mechanism that unites citizens. Last weekend was a movement-building moment; an initial “coming out” for the 60-plus organizations, and countless citizens, united by the common purpose of ensuring that democracy is for We the People, not corporations and concentrated wealth.

Occupying Corporate Offices, Downtowns, and State Capitols

On Saturday, thousands of people joined Public Citizen and our allies to Occupy the Corporations, often demonstrating and engaging in creative actions at Bank of America branches and offices, Chevron gas stations and other corporate outposts in our communities. They ranged from local activists braving snow by the dozens to rouse and educate their community in places like Joliet, Illinois and Prince William, Virginia; to activists with the Rainforest Action Network and Occupy groups who “arrested” Cargill at its Minneapolis headquarters and conducted manhunts for a “person” going by the name of Bank of America in Charlotte and San Francisco; and to the  hundreds who joined Congressman Jim McDermott to rally and march through downtown Seattle in the slippery aftermath of an ice storm.

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Posted in: Activism, Campaign Finance, Congress, Open Government, Social Justice, Uncategorized3 comments

January27

Money and Democracy Update: A pact on Super PACs, advice from Scalia

By: Angela Bradbery

Stunning Statistics of the Week:

  • $3.27 billion: Amount spent on lobbying in 2011
  • $3.51 billion: Amount spent on lobbying in 2010

Note: The drop is attributed to political gridlock.

Citizens United anniversary: Everything it was cracked up to be and more
We’ve been telling you for a while about the momentum that built toward protest events slated for Saturday, Jan. 21, the second anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. The anniversary was everything we thought it would be and then some. Citizens and elected officials took to the streets in cities throughout the country to call for a constitutional amendment to overturn the decision. Check out these pieces in Mother Jones, Truthout.org and Firedoglake. If you haven’t joined the movement, it’s not too late. Visit www.DemocracyIsForPeople.org.

Candidates say “Enough already with the Super PACs”
It might not work but it’s worth a shot. U.S. Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) and his opponent Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren have signed a “People’s Pledge agreement” designed to keep Super PACs and the negative ads they pay for out of the race. Under the agreement, whichever candidate is aided by an ad paid for by a third party must contribute an amount worth half the ad to his or her opponent’s charity of choice.

House lawmakers draft new DISCLOSE Act
The DISCLOSE Act, designed to mitigate the harmful effects of Citizens United, fell victim in 2011 to GOP intransigence. Now, some lawmakers are making another run at it. U.S. Reps. Bob Brady (D-Pa.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) have drafted a bill that would, among other things, enhance disclosure by Super PACs, corporations and outside groups, and require corporations to tell shareholders about campaign expenditures.

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Posted in: Campaign Finance, Money & Democracy Update, Uncategorized0 comments

January20

Money and Democracy Update: People take to the streets, Citizens United anniversary is upon us, Bain likes Dems

By: Angela Bradbery

Stunning Statistics of the Week:

  • $27.5 million: The amount that Super PACs have spent to influence the 2012 presidential election
  • $8.1 million: The amount Restore Our Future, the Super PAC backing GOP contender Mitt Romney, has spent
  • $5.4 million: The amount candidates have spent on TV ads for the South Carolina primary to date
  • $6.9 million: The amount Super PACs have spent on TV ads in South Carolina

Taking to the streets as Jan. 21 Citizens United anniversary approaches
What a week! Saturday, Jan. 21, marks the second anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s disastrous Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, and activists have been engaged in – or gearing up for – hundreds of events around the country. Public Citizen and other groups held rallies and press events with state officials in Maryland, Vermont and Massachusetts to call for a constitutional amendment to overturn the court’s decision. Another big rally is scheduled Saturday in Sacramento, Calif. In addition, activists are planning about 300 demonstrations around the country. It’s not too late to get involved in your area! Check out www.DemocracyIsForPeople.org. Or if you are a Facebook fan, check this out. Also worth reading is today’s Huffington Post piece by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Public Citizen President Robert Weissman.

CEOs, investors, others call on SEC to require disclosure of corporate political spending
The Corporate Reform Coalition, made up of institutional investors, CEOs, good government organizations and others, is calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission to require publicly traded corporations to disclose political spending. U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who joined a coalition press call Thursday, released a letter to the SEC from himself and 13 Senate colleagues. “Many shareholders remain in the dark, unaware that their money could be funding political activities, or even political attack ads. The rights of shareholders must be protected and at present, we believe that they are being compromised,” the letter said. A citizens petition to the SEC has already garnered more than 20,000 signatures. Add yours here.

Well, this is a bit awkward: Democrats get more money from Bain than Republicans
Bain Capital has been in the spotlight because of Mitt Romney’s tenure at the private equity firm. But truth be told, Democrats have taken more donations from Bain executives than Republicans over the past three election cycles ($1.2 million vs. $480,000), The Hill reports.

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Posted in: Campaign Finance, Uncategorized2 comments

January19

Citizens United v. We the People

By: Sean Siperstein

Two years after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission opened the floodgates to unlimited corporate spending in our elections, the fast-growing movement to fight back with a 28th Amendment to the Constitution is taking shape. With a “Super PAC” frenzy inundating the 2012 presidential campaign, feeding the public’s widespread revulsion at what the Court has wrought, the time to act is upon us. Public Citizen’s Robert Weissman in the Washington Post:

Activists join Maryland legislators and U.S. Representatives, as well as Public Citizen's Mark Hays and other allies, to call for a constitutional amendment at the State House in Annapolis.

“We’re already at a point where the public overwhelmingly opposes the decision ,” said Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, a watchdog group helping to spearhead the efforts. “The goal is to build a grass-roots movement that will eventually be able to shape the debate.”

Public Citizen’s Democracy is For People campaign, as a founding member of the United for the People coalition, is proud to be in the thick of this amazing “movement moment.”

Building on more than 50 cities and towns that have passed resolutions demanding a constitutional amendment that overturns Citizens United and stems the influence of money over elected officials, Public Citizen and our allies have been organizing in four different states vying to have their legislatures follow suit (and in the process declare that they’re ready to ratify an amendment). Rallies supporting those resolutions were held in Massachusetts and Maryland over the last 2 days (with Congressmen Chris Van Hollen and John Sarbanes attending in Maryland). Vermont and California will follow suit tomorrow and Saturday.

And to mark Saturday’s anniversary itself, activists around the nation will “Occupy the Corporations,” and expose the corporate imposters posing as ‘people’ with the constitutional right to buy unprecedented influence over elected officials and public policy. We’ll be focusing on some of the mega-corporations most empowered by Citizens United and most responsible for greedy, disastrously short-sighted policies, to the detriment of the rest of us.

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Posted in: Activism, Campaign Finance, Open Government, Social Justice, Uncategorized0 comments

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