Cross-posted from Campaign For America's Future
The Senate is scheduled to consider later today the Democracy For All Amendment to undo the damage the Republicans on the Supreme Court did with their Citizens United and other rulings that allow corporations and billionaires to purchase our elections. We the People should have the right to protect our government from being captured by the billionaires and their giant corporations.
The Democracy For All Amendment
Here is the amendment that the Senate is considering this week:
Section 1 --
"To advance democratic self-government and political equality, and to protect the integrity of government and the electoral process, Congress and the States may regulate and set reasonable limits on the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence elections."
Section 2 --
"Congress and the States shall have power to implement and enforce this article by appropriate legislation, and may distinguish between natural persons and corporations or other artificial entities created by law, including by prohibiting such entities from spending money to influence elections."
Section 3 --
"Nothing in this article shall be construed to grant Congress or the States the power to abridge the freedom of the press."
Money In Politics
You may have heard about the "Citizens United" ruling by the Republicans on the Supreme Court. Citizens United was that 5-4 ruling by the Republican majority on the Supreme Court that opened the door to unlimited "corporate speech" in our elections. Combined with similar rulings and Republican obstruction on the Federal Elections Commission, our elections have been absolutely flooded with corporate/billionaire cash -- much of it secret. Moneyed interests have overwhelmed the political process.
Republicans also filibustered the DISCLOSE Act that would have at least let us know who was putting money into our elections, so the source of much of the money remains secret. We don't even get to know what countries the money is coming from.
Obviously Americans understand that the big money system shuts them out of the process and advances the agendas of billionaires and corporations. Now only special interests are heard from, because their money is deciding elections.
A Direct Effect On People's Lives
This has a direct effect on people's lives. This corporate/billionaire money is the reason Republicans are obstructing an increase in the minimum wage. It is the reason they obstructed efforts to help people with crushing student loan debt. It is the reason they obstructed and killed extended unemployment benefits. It is the reason they obstruct efforts to start maintaining and modernizing our infrastructure, restore funding to our schools, and support scientific research, disease control and all the other basic human needs that our government is supposed to be assisting with.
Americans want a say in the government decisions that affect them and their families. The Democracy For All amendment that is before the Senate this week is designed to fix this problem of billionaire/corporate money drowning out our elections.
"No Single Issue Is More Important"
This past weekend Sens. Tom Udall and Bernie Sanders set the stage for the debate with an op-ed, "The Threat to American Democracy," in Politico, writing,
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