WASHINGTON - To mark the first anniversary of the
controversial "Citizens United" Supreme Court ruling, a coalition of
advocacy groups and concerned citizens will host the For the People
Summit, including a strategic conference at the Washington Plaza
Hotel and a satirical "We the Corporations" Rally at the U.S.
Capitol.

Jim Hightower author of Swim Against the
Current, will deliver the keynote address on Friday evening.
Other speakers include Dean Baker of The Center
for Economic and Policy Studies, Marge Baker of
People for the American Way, John Bonifaz of Free
Speech for People, David Cobb of Move to Amend, Eric

Hensal of Murray Hill, Inc., Ellen Hodgeson
Brown author of Web of Debt, Steve

Meacham of City Life Vida Urbana, Sanho Tree
of the Institute for Policy Studies, and Kevin Zeese
of Voters for Peace.

Bill Moyer of The Backbone Campaign and Annabel

Park of the Coffee Party are two of the principal
organizers. "It's very hard to make progress on any issue without
addressing the problem of money in politics," Park said, "because
right now it takes a nearly impossible amount of effort for ordinary
people to compete with the daily influence that entrenched lobbyists
enjoy. To succeed, we need to step outside the traditional
left-right-center framework and find common cause across party
lines."

Today, a growing coalition that also includes Center for Media and
Democracy, Alliance for Democracy, and Move to Amend launched a new
website - MovementForThePeople.org - inviting people
around the country to create local events and/or participate
on-line.

"The greatest political reform of our time will be to abolish the
legal concept of 'corporate personhood' and the inherently
anti-democratic equation of money with political speech," Moyer
said. "I believe this monumental task will be achieved in the coming
years built on a foundation of community-based battles to return
power to the People."

In Washington, Summit events will include:

• Lobby Day on Capitol Hill (Jan. 20)
• "We the Corporations" Satirical Rally (Jan. 21 at 11 AM at the
  U.S. Capitol Area 9)
• 2-day strategic Summit (Jan. 21 and 22 at the Washington Plaza
  Hotel at Thomas Circle)

Nancy Price of Alliance for Democracy serves on
steering committee for the new coalition. "The Summit will be an
open discussion putting aside political, cultural, and ideological
differences because the problem of money in politics is uniting
America like few issues can," she said. "80% of us disapprove of the
Citizens United decision. 87% disapprove of the job Congress is
doing. The American public will not accept a future in which we are
no longer a self-determining people."