Friends of democracy ~
A couple of announcements related to fair elections.
1. Prop.15 kicks off it's campaign this Sunday at 1pm in San
Francisco. Prop. 15 will be on this June's ballot and would create a
pilot program of full public financing for Secretary of State races
in California. This is an important step towards getting public
financing for all California races. See details below.
2. MoveOn is protesting the Democratic leadership's weak response to
the Citizen's United ruling. Instead of pushing for full public
financing of campaigns the Democratic leadership has put some token
reforms on the table. In order to get the attention of congress
MoveOn is asking activists to drop off bags of potatoes at Pelosi's
office, to signify that the Democratic leadership's response is
"small potatoes" and that we need something truly effective. See
details below.
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1. Proposition 15 Campaign Kickoff!
Come to the local campaign kickoff for Prop 15, which will be on this
June's ballot and would create a pilot program of full public
financing for Secretary of State races in California.
Join Senators Loni Hancock and Mark Leno, and Assemblymember Tom
Ammiano, San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, California Nurses
Association Co-President Deborah Burger, campaign chair Trent Lange,
and others so you can help pass Fair Elections that money can't buy.
WHEN: Sunday, February 21 from 1pm-3pm
WHERE: San Francisco Main Library
100 Larkin Street at Grove
San Francisco, CA 94102
Proposition 15, the California Fair Elections Act (CFEA) represents
fundamental election reform that will allow candidates and elected
officials to get out of the money game and get back to solving
California’s problems.
2. MoveOn Action for Fair Elections in SF
Last week, Democratic leaders announced their plan to stop the flood
of corporate money into politics.
Unfortunately, the Democrats' plan is small potatoes—especially
compared to the threat posed by the Supreme Court decision allowing
unlimited corporate spending on political campaigns.
The good news is that the bill's authors say they will strengthen it
if they hear from enough people, so we can definitely still have an
impact.
Can you drop by Rep. Nancy Pelosi's office tomorrow or Thursday and
deliver a bag of small potatoes to let her know that this proposal
isn't enough? All you need to do is grab your potatoes (really, any
size potatoes will do) and print a flyer to bring with you. We'll
provide a flyer you can bring with you. Click here if you can do it:
http://pol.moveon.org/smallpotatoes/index.html?
location_id=15&pri=1&id=18956-5256944-r_sLX7x&t=3
The Democratic plan, proposed by Representative Chris Van Hollen and
Senator Chuck Schumer, currently includes these main provisions:
• Public disclosure: The proposal includes a number of provisions
intended to make sure the public knows which corporations are funding
the ads we see on TV during the election.
• Foreign corporations: The plan would bar most political spending by
foreign-owned corporations.
• Government contractors: The proposal would stop government
contractors from spending on political campaigns.
This just doesn't cut it—not after the Supreme Court put our
democracy up for sale to the highest bidder. This is a plan that
basically says it's OK for most corporations to buy elections, as
long as they tell us they're doing it.
Under the bipartisan Fair Elections Now Act, a fund would be created
from a small fee on big government contractors and media
corporations. Then, candidates who only take contributions below $100
will get those small donations matched four times over from the Fair
Elections fund.
The Fair Elections Now Act is modeled on successful citizen-funded
elections in states like Maine and Connecticut, and a new poll shows
it's a winner with voters across the political spectrum.
To save our democracy, we need citizen-funded elections, not small
potatoes like the Van Hollen-Schumer plan.
You can help by delivering a bag of small potatoes to Rep. Pelosi's
office tomorrow or Thursday with a flyer urging Congress to pass the
Fair Elections Now Act? It's urgent, so it needs to happen right
away. Click here if you can do it:
http://pol.moveon.org/smallpotatoes/index.html?
location_id=15&pri=1&id=18956-5256944-r_sLX7x&t=4
Friends of democracy ~
We have an extraordinary opportunity right now created by the outrage
at the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United, striking down
limits on independent political expenditures by corporations. There
is a real chance that Congress might now create citizen funded
elections by enacting the Fair Elections Now Act (H.R. 1826). That
bill would fundamentally transform our system by unburdening our
representatives from their dependence on campaign funders.
In the coming days, the House of Representatives will be holding
hearings to determine what to do about last month's Supreme Court
decision. There are a host of proposals on the table -- some quite
strong, some hardly adequate to address the problem facing our
democracy. But none is as strong as the Fair Elections Now Act.
If you want to help Fair Elections pass, you must act today. Use
Change Congress' tool to contact your representative and tell them
why you support this vital act:
http://action.change-congress.org/FairElections
Of all the legislative remedies that have been proposed in the wake
of the Citizens United ruling, only Fair Elections gets to the heart
of the matter. It would finally give regular citizens, who have
public support, but no desire to take special interest money, the
ability to get public funding in order to wage competitive campaigns.
Rob Arnow
San Franciscans for Voter Owned Elections
www.voterownedelections.org
