Jack Abramoff introduces a key premise of the film: that major political spending is about a return on investment; there is nothing more profitable than lobbying and contributing to campaigns in order to get preferable treatment for your business.Others can make that claim. He can attest to having done it. He said that for tens of millions, he was able to make clients billions."99% of what I did was legal; that's the problem."

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My guest today is John Wellington Ennis, director of Pay 2 Play, Democracy's High Stakes, his new documentary, recently released. Welcome back to OpEdNews, John.

JB: We last talked in 2011 when you had already finished Free for All! and were working on this film. Before we jump into Pay 2 Play, let's first give our readers some background and context. What was Free for All! about?

JWE: I originally went to Ohio looking for humorous way to convey corruption, and since Ohio was so pivotal to deciding national elections, I figured there'd be some layer of relevance no matter what. This Coingate scandal seemed so ludicrous but at the same time embodied all the problems with campaign finance, because paying for campaigns seemed to be the root of corruption. At that time, there were also lingering doubts about the integrity of the vote in Ohio's 2004 presidential election. What began as asking questions about these two topics turned into two different films. FREE FOR ALL! showed how our elections are undermined and what citizens are doing to make sure their ballots were counted. But I started to wonder -- how do names even get on those ballots, and what is in the way of average folks from running for office? That became the premise of PAY 2 PLAY.

JB: Why and how did the board game of Monopoly come to figure so prominently in the film?

JWE: We were finishing FREE FOR ALL!, having already cut this bigger movie in half, and we planned on calling the other half PAY 2 PLAY. When we were finishing the DVD, our animator Chris Bunz sent me something, this little ending animation with a monopoly style board and pics of some of the Ohio GOP characters that were to be in the film. My first thought was, I liked the idea of a game about corruption, but it should apply to both parties. From there, I recognized the cultural weight Monopoly still had, how sentimental people were, and yet there seemed something so off about it in retrospect, buying up utilities and evicting your friends. Examining the rules today, yes, it actually says your goal is to bankrupt your opponents, not just get the most stuff. I thought evoking this fond board game with its insidious lessons would be an introduction to the film, but Monopoly kept coming up in different ways that I felt I had to pursue.

By the time I started noticing a Monopoly Man pasted around L.A., I was well into the film, but my chasing down the story behind it took the movie into directions I never imagined. In my research, I found there was a major deception perpetrated by Parker Brothers as far as Monopoly's origins, and that the truth had been buried by corporate PR and litigation. Yet when I was telling people what my documentary was about, detailing expansive corruption and far-reaching collusion, it was only when I happened to mention that the story of Monopoly is a lie, then people reacted like, "No! Not Monopoly!" I realized there was something to this that was still so sacred to people because it was from childhood, and connecting with that outrage would be key to motivating people to act.

JB: Monopoly is definitely an American icon. And the street artists obviously agreed. You show up with your film to make incorporating a Monopoly theme and the Monopoly Man starts appearing all over the place. Wasn't that a bit eerie? Tell us more about how you went after that story.

JWE: One lesson I took to heart from working in Reality TV is to keep producing for various storylines, because you don't know what will turn up later as relevant, even essential. In making a first person documentary, it becomes harder to visualize your internal thought process. While I was immersed in piecing together the secret history of Monopoly, and trying to figure how it might relate to whatever story I was going to tell, I started to notice posters around Los Angeles of a Monopoly Man. It seemed interesting someone else was taking this means of expression to put up their own statement using Monopoly. I thought it might be just something to show a few shots of, but as I learned about the artist and what was involved in putting up your work around town, I became increasingly fascinated by the possibilities this opened up.

JB: What's the deal with street artists? Are they renegades? What motivates them? What did you learn?

JWE: As a medium, I'd say street art is one of the most noble pursuits of political expression. As personality types, those who persist in exhibiting their work may have any number of motivations -- from public service, to spiritual philosophy, to self-promotion. Lots of different types participate. But the criminality aspect of what is considered vandalism certainly poses a barrier to those already heavily policed and subject to stricter enforcement. Getting to know street artists can also be tricky because they usually keep a low profile, pursue some other identity at night alone, and can have pretty combative attitudes. They can be charismatic but difficult. One thing I learned to keep in mind is, once you get the street artist off the street, you are dealing with an artist.

JB: And in fact, several street artists make an appearance in PAY 2 PLAY. Why did you decide to include them in your film, besides for the Monopoly tie-in? I'm thinking in particular of the compelling young mom you interviewed.

JWE: LydiaEmily is an artist who speaks in the film about being inundated with billboards that prompt her young daughters to start asking for makeup, clothes, or about their weight and size. While she is already struggling as a single mother with a special-needs daughter, how can she give voice to things that matter more? She is ultimately willing to go to jail for her right to express herself, and has had some in-depth legal problems.

JB: Bummer. And, regarding the stiff penalties that local police extract from those expressing their creative side, you aren't kidding! I just this second got an email from Mark Crispin Miller with a YouTube of a musician who was assaulted and arrested by NYPD, although he broke no law. What next?

JWE: As we have seen since Occupy, and again in Ferguson, even the freedom to assemble has been militarized against. But it is that direct action and confrontation that helps tell this story, which becomes part of a larger debate in a rapidly-evolving culture. You can take steps to avoid getting arrested, and not get careless, or, perhaps getting arrested is part of your political statement. As a wise man in our film declares, "I think it's a form of resistance."

JB: Jack Abramoff made a guest appearance in Pay 2 Play. What could a convicted felon have to contribute to your film?

JWE: After his release from prison for defrauding Indian casinos, Abramoff released a book about the lessons he learned in D.C., called Capitol Punishment. I caught up with him while he was promoting his book, and found that he had some good insights toward reform, which was why he was working with United Republic, a non-partisan group committed toward reforming money in politics. In PAY 2 PLAY, Abramoff introduces a key premise of the film, which is that major political spending is about a return on investment; there is nothing more profitable than lobbying and contributing to campaigns in order to get preferable treatment for your business. Others can make that claim. But Jack Abramoff can attest to having done it. He said that for tens of millions, he was able to make clients billions. He also mentioned some reforms that have stuck with me: Term limits for Congress, because the hardest part of his job as a lobbyist would be to re-establish relationships with new electeds, and then the revolving door problem into K street isn't as rewarding because of the broad turnover. He warns: "99% of what I did was legal, and that's the problem."

JB: Yikes! It's fascinating that a reformed felon has come back and is working with a non-partisan group dedicated to taking money out of politics. Who would know how the system works better than he? I wonder who's involved in United Republic and how it's doing. We didn't feel their impact during this election cycle with unprecedented amounts of unidentified dollars flooding into candidates' coffers. Pay 2 Play comes up with a number of recommendations regarding future elections. Would you care to share them with us?

JWE: The Money Out Movement has never been stronger, and is only gaining momentum. The response to Citizens United has actually grown year to year, as more people understand how none of our problems can be addressed until we face the campaign finance crisis. United Republic has evolved over recent years and spun off into another group, Represent.US, a more youth-oriented social media savvy organization using satire with a focus on corruption, since that aspect resonates with people. Lawrence Lessig, who appears in PAY 2 PLAY, is part of United Republic, as well as the founder of Rootstrikers, and the Super PAC MayDAY.US, which has raised over $10 million to back clean-money candidates for office. During the election, MayDay.US held a competition for 30-second spots, and I was honored to be one of the winners. United Republic also featured the reporting work of Lee Fang, who appears in PAY 2 PLAY, an investigative journalist that first reported on the Koch Brothers' Billionaire Strategy Retreats. United Republic is just one of the many partners that we are fortunate to have on PAY 2 PLAY, part of a larger coalition that is tracking this dark money and reporting on its influence. Over $145 million in dark money was spent in this midterm election.

The six solutions we outline at the end of the film are remedies intended to address widespread apathy and disenfranchisement. Public Financing for Campaigns exists already in the U.S., and this system allows federal candidates the freedom to listen to voters instead of donors. Another important step is to End Gerrymandering, the strategic re-districting that slices districts into blocs that only vote one way. Disclosure is essential for voters to know who is spending money and airing ads in their elections, because an informed electorate is the point of elections. Compulsory Voting is already accepted in countries like Brazil and Australia, and we should be making laws to get people to vote instead of preventing them from voting. Free Airtime for candidates is also common in other countries, and this can allow candidates to talk to voters instead of backers, and expands the conversation beyond 30- second attack ads. Finally, we need a Constitutional Amendment that overturns Citizens United, affirming that Money is Not Speech and Corporations are Not People.

JB: PAY 2 PLAY is a remarkably hopeful and often humorous treatment of a serious subject. It also gives specific examples of how a single individual can make a difference [Paul Hackett, candidate Chili, the street artists]. I loved that aspect of the film and it's a belief I fully subscribe to. I urge all our readers to grab the chance to see this film. Thank you, John. It was great talking with you again.

JWE: Thanks for taking the time to talk to me about PAY 2 PLAY, Joan!

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my 2011 interview with John:

PAY 2 PLAY website: http://pay2play.tv

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/PAY-2-PLAY/178258132212858

John Wellington Ennis: http://johnennis.tv

Public Interest Pictures: http://publicinterestpics.org

*my 2007 review of American Blackout

Authors Website: http://www.opednews.com/author/author79.html

Authors Bio:

Joan Brunwasser is a co-founder of Citizens for Election Reform (CER) which since 2005 existed for the sole purpose of raising the public awareness of the critical need for election reform. Our goal: to restore fair, accurate, transparent, secure elections where votes are cast in private and counted in public. Because the problems with electronic (computerized) voting systems include a lack of transparency and the ability to accurately check and authenticate the vote cast, these systems can alter election results and therefore are simply antithetical to democratic principles and functioning.



Since the pivotal 2004 Presidential election, Joan has come to see the connection between a broken election system, a dysfunctional, corporate media and a total lack of campaign finance reform. This has led her to enlarge the parameters of her writing to include interviews with whistle-blowers and articulate others who give a view quite different from that presented by the mainstream media. She also turns the spotlight on activists and ordinary folks who are striving to make a difference, to clean up and improve their corner of the world. By focusing on these intrepid individuals, she gives hope and inspiration to those who might otherwise be turned off and alienated. She also interviews people in the arts in all their variations - authors, journalists, filmmakers, actors, playwrights, and artists. Why? The bottom line: without art and inspiration, we lose one of the best parts of ourselves. And we're all in this together. If Joan can keep even one of her fellow citizens going another day, she considers her job well done.


When Joan hit one million page views, OEN Managing Editor, Meryl Ann Butler interviewed her, turning interviewer briefly into interviewee. Read the interview here.

While the news is often quite depressing, Joan nevertheless strives to maintain her mantra: "Grab life now in an exuberant embrace!"


Joan has been Election Integrity Editor for OpEdNews since December, 2005. Her articles also appear at Huffington Post, RepublicMedia.TV and Scoop.co.nz.