This year Toomey helped his buddy set up his presidential campaign, serving as both adviser and fundraiser. So now, he runs the Make Us Great Again outfit, piously insisting that it is entirely separate from Perry's campaign. Hello -- the PAC and the campaign don't have to "coordinate," because both are embodied in Toomey!
It's Up To UsDo politicians think that people can't see their cynical and deliberate scamming of our "democratic" process? If so, they might peek at some of the letters, emails, and Facebook messages I get practically every day. Not only do folks see it clearly, they're looking to join in some serious butt-kicking:
"CEOs represent a clear and present danger to the over-all well-being and security of our country. Big money has plucked our eagle." --Larry"Multinational companies and bazillionaires are making our laws, and it is high time this stops. I will do what I can to push this issue. Please advise." --Dennis
"We need to get under one umbrella. How can we do it? I'm so angry at the state of things. Still, I'm trying to stay positive." --Melody
"I like the idea of petitioning to reverse the Citizens United decision. I would be pleased to help with the petition in Kansas if it gets going, or to start one. Where does one begin?" --Robert
"I am truly concerned. I want to know a way I can even mildly contribute to making people more aware of the reality that we face. Any information on how I can begin is much appreciated." --Joshua
"The most effective campaign to launch is to get every org to focus lobbying, dollars, and message on the one issue: END CORPORATE INFLUENCE AND POWER." --Christine
With Washington turning its collective back on us, we have three choices: whine, give up, or organize ourselves.
Whining is pathetic, so forget it. Giving up is simply impossible, for the enthronement of corporate money in elections effectively ends any pretension that we are a self-governing people. This is not just another issue, it is central to practically every one of our issues, for it amounts to surrendering our democratic authority to (in Jefferson's words) "the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations." The Court and the political elites have forced you and me into another of those "When in the course of human events" moments that Jefferson wrote about in the Declaration. This is a BIG TIME in which ordinary people are called forth by history to do what our "leaders" won't: Assert the American people's independence from authoritarian rule by corporate plutocrats.
We The PeopleSo, let's get to organizing. Along with Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor of The Nation, and Jay Harris, until recently publisher of Mother Jones, the Lowdown has launched a little rebellion to do two things: (1) focus the progressive media on raising public awareness (and blood-boiling outrage) about the usurpation of our democracy by corporate money; and (2) connect this rising awareness/outrage directly to some grassroots actions that people can take to stop this hijacking for once and forever.
Called the We the People Campaign,
our insurgency has already enlisted a wide array of independent media
outlets (including the Lowdown, alternative news weeklies, national
magazines, political cartoonists, progressive television shows,
community radio stations, bloggers, and social media) to team up this
month in a cooperative effort to publish/broadcast a variety of stories
about the corporate heist. Rather than just flinging out an occasional
disjointed story, we're sending out this powerful democratic message all
at once, thus giving our independent progressive voices a megaphone
effect that will echo across the land and reach millions of people who
know little or nothing about the Supremely decreed "personhood" of Citizens United.
Beginning October 23, we're coordinating with them on a "National Week of Action" to get corporate money out of our politics. The groups are seeking to sign up a million Americans in that week to join with them and other democracy fighters in this historic cause. To connect with the groups and get information about the campaign, go to WeThePeopleCampaign.org, or facebook.com/wethepeoplecampaign or on Twitter @peep_power.
The Powers That Be (and, sadly, too many progressive funders and cynics) want us to believe that this effort is hopeless, that we can't really undo the legal scaffolding of artificial personhood that the corporados have erected over us flesh-and-blood citizens. Rather than attempting to deconstruct the Brave New America, they tell us, we should be satisfied with softening its rougher edges with things like campaign finance reporting requirements.
Now there's a rallying cry for an angry public: "Give us campaign finance reporting regulations or give us death!"
How insulting to say that Americans today are too small to achieve big democratic results. And how erroneous. As a friend of mine notes, those who say it can't be done should not interrupt those who are doing it. Here's a partial menu of actions that are underway or that you could start right where you live:
Amend. Two major coalitions are aggressively organizing grassroots power from coast to coast to demand and pass a constitutional amendment to prohibit corporations from buying our elections. Yes, this is a difficult and lengthy process, but as an old Spanish dicho puts it: "Big maladies require big remedies." The people have passed amendments before and we can again, especially for a cause that starts with such broad and passionate public support.
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