"At some point, we have to say enough is enough when it comes to money dictating the direction of democracy," said Councilwoman Marti Emerald. (Photo: seth_schneider via flickr)
Dec 05, 2012
The San Diego City Council unanimously approved on Tuesday a resolution to overturn Citizens United, adding the city's name to a growing, national movement to undo the 2010 ruling that unleashed unlimited corporate spending in elections.
"While it's not binding, it is an important message to send from the people of San Diego to Congress," KPBS reports Councilwoman Marti Emerald, who introduced the resolution, as saying. "At some point, we have to say enough is enough when it comes to money dictating the direction of democracy."
Emerald added that 23 cities in California and 13 state legislatures have already passed similar legislation, KPBS reports.
San Diego's resolution means over 300 communities have now called for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, according to advocacy group Public Citizen, and in July California became the largest state in the nation to urge Congress to draft a constitutional amendment to overturn the ruling.
"These state efforts show how people can reclaim the people's rights by pursuing a constitutional amendment to ensure our democracy isn't for sale," Mark Hays, campaign coordinator for Public Citizen's Democracy Is For People campaign, stated earlier this year. "They are pulling out all the stops to make it clear that democracy should be for people, not corporations and superwealthy political donors."
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today! |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The San Diego City Council unanimously approved on Tuesday a resolution to overturn Citizens United, adding the city's name to a growing, national movement to undo the 2010 ruling that unleashed unlimited corporate spending in elections.
"While it's not binding, it is an important message to send from the people of San Diego to Congress," KPBS reports Councilwoman Marti Emerald, who introduced the resolution, as saying. "At some point, we have to say enough is enough when it comes to money dictating the direction of democracy."
Emerald added that 23 cities in California and 13 state legislatures have already passed similar legislation, KPBS reports.
San Diego's resolution means over 300 communities have now called for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, according to advocacy group Public Citizen, and in July California became the largest state in the nation to urge Congress to draft a constitutional amendment to overturn the ruling.
"These state efforts show how people can reclaim the people's rights by pursuing a constitutional amendment to ensure our democracy isn't for sale," Mark Hays, campaign coordinator for Public Citizen's Democracy Is For People campaign, stated earlier this year. "They are pulling out all the stops to make it clear that democracy should be for people, not corporations and superwealthy political donors."
The San Diego City Council unanimously approved on Tuesday a resolution to overturn Citizens United, adding the city's name to a growing, national movement to undo the 2010 ruling that unleashed unlimited corporate spending in elections.
"While it's not binding, it is an important message to send from the people of San Diego to Congress," KPBS reports Councilwoman Marti Emerald, who introduced the resolution, as saying. "At some point, we have to say enough is enough when it comes to money dictating the direction of democracy."
Emerald added that 23 cities in California and 13 state legislatures have already passed similar legislation, KPBS reports.
San Diego's resolution means over 300 communities have now called for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, according to advocacy group Public Citizen, and in July California became the largest state in the nation to urge Congress to draft a constitutional amendment to overturn the ruling.
"These state efforts show how people can reclaim the people's rights by pursuing a constitutional amendment to ensure our democracy isn't for sale," Mark Hays, campaign coordinator for Public Citizen's Democracy Is For People campaign, stated earlier this year. "They are pulling out all the stops to make it clear that democracy should be for people, not corporations and superwealthy political donors."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.