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The Senator from Exxon-Mobil? As Supreme Court Throws Open the Floodgates to Unlimited Corporate Money in Campaigns, the Time for Real Reform is Now!
Jan 21, 2010
Folks, we have a problem. It's bigger than healthcare, global
warming, and the economy because it cuts to the heart of every big
issue we face.
The symptoms of this problem are clear:
Instead of doing the nation's business, elected officials are
spending a third of their time or more dialing for special interest
dollars in never-ending campaigns for reelection. Industry lobbyists
are helping to write the very bills in Congress that affect their
bottom line, placing private profit ahead of the public good. Billions
of taxpayer dollars are going to benefit big contributors through
earmarks, subsidies, and special regulations. And that is only the
beginning.
The problem is big money in politics.
We've known this all along. Nine in ten Americans believe Congress
does not listen to the needs of average citizens. Eight in ten are
concerned that big spending by big interests is preventing Congress
from meeting the enormous challenges facing our nation today.
And just when we thought that corporations had amassed as much
political power as any non-human legal entity lacking constitutional
protection possibly could, a slim majority of the U.S. Supreme Court
today decided otherwise. Led by Chief Justice John Roberts, the Supreme
Court has overturned decades' worth of established precedent limiting
corporate money in federal elections in Citizens United v. FEC, thereby
opening the floodgates to unlimited corporate spending.
What does this ruling mean? Consider the influence a single corporation
like Exxon Mobil could wield in the upcoming energy and climate debate
if it is able to not only lobby on Capitol Hill but spend unlimited
sums on the election or defeat of candidates. With $85 billion in
profits during the 2008 election, Exxon Mobil would have been able to
fully fund over 65,000 winning campaigns for U.S. House or outspend
every candidate by a factor of 90 to 1. That's a scary proposition when
you consider that the health of our planet is at stake.
The Supreme Court and the special interests have spoken. It's time for the people to respond.
That's where you come in. Believe it or not, there's a solution to this
problem already working in seven states and now moving ahead in
Congress. The Fair Elections Now Act, introduced by congressional
leaders in the Senate and House, would let qualifying candidates
combine small citizen donations with matching public funds rather than
campaign on corporate money. It's picked up over 120 bipartisan
cosponsors who are sick and tired of dialing for special interest
dollars, and the program has long been upheld as constitutional by the
Supreme Court.
Because free speech isn't free when only the rich are heard, the
Fair Elections Now Act would cherish the First Amendment by providing
opportunities for real political expression to qualified candidates
regardless of party, wealth, or personal connections. In return, those
candidates would say no to special interest contributions so they're
beholden to the voters alone.
As a former U.S. Senator, I got to experience the thrill of public
service and the frustration of a system increasingly beholden to
special interests. But for all the mounting influence of big money in
Washington, one thing at least remains true today as it did when I
served: the voices of citizens standing firm for positive change can
and do get through. I can think of countless times in the Senate when
hearing from my constituents gave me the firepower to act on an
important conviction and made all the difference.
I ask you to tell your representatives in Washington that
you're counting on them to end the endless money chase and restore
public confidence in government by cosponsoring the Fair Elections Now
Act today. And I urge you to multiply your impact by recruiting your
friends and neighbors to the cause, writing and calling your
representatives and local press, visiting their district offices, and
joining the You Street campaign.
The overwhelming majority of Americans support Fair Elections,
Congressional leaders say they support our bill, and the President has
said he'll sign it into law. Now it's up to us. Click here to join the
thousands of Americans telling Congress and the Supreme Court that the
days of big money in Washington are numbered and the time for real
reform is now!
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Folks, we have a problem. It's bigger than healthcare, global
warming, and the economy because it cuts to the heart of every big
issue we face.
The symptoms of this problem are clear:
Instead of doing the nation's business, elected officials are
spending a third of their time or more dialing for special interest
dollars in never-ending campaigns for reelection. Industry lobbyists
are helping to write the very bills in Congress that affect their
bottom line, placing private profit ahead of the public good. Billions
of taxpayer dollars are going to benefit big contributors through
earmarks, subsidies, and special regulations. And that is only the
beginning.
The problem is big money in politics.
We've known this all along. Nine in ten Americans believe Congress
does not listen to the needs of average citizens. Eight in ten are
concerned that big spending by big interests is preventing Congress
from meeting the enormous challenges facing our nation today.
And just when we thought that corporations had amassed as much
political power as any non-human legal entity lacking constitutional
protection possibly could, a slim majority of the U.S. Supreme Court
today decided otherwise. Led by Chief Justice John Roberts, the Supreme
Court has overturned decades' worth of established precedent limiting
corporate money in federal elections in Citizens United v. FEC, thereby
opening the floodgates to unlimited corporate spending.
What does this ruling mean? Consider the influence a single corporation
like Exxon Mobil could wield in the upcoming energy and climate debate
if it is able to not only lobby on Capitol Hill but spend unlimited
sums on the election or defeat of candidates. With $85 billion in
profits during the 2008 election, Exxon Mobil would have been able to
fully fund over 65,000 winning campaigns for U.S. House or outspend
every candidate by a factor of 90 to 1. That's a scary proposition when
you consider that the health of our planet is at stake.
The Supreme Court and the special interests have spoken. It's time for the people to respond.
That's where you come in. Believe it or not, there's a solution to this
problem already working in seven states and now moving ahead in
Congress. The Fair Elections Now Act, introduced by congressional
leaders in the Senate and House, would let qualifying candidates
combine small citizen donations with matching public funds rather than
campaign on corporate money. It's picked up over 120 bipartisan
cosponsors who are sick and tired of dialing for special interest
dollars, and the program has long been upheld as constitutional by the
Supreme Court.
Because free speech isn't free when only the rich are heard, the
Fair Elections Now Act would cherish the First Amendment by providing
opportunities for real political expression to qualified candidates
regardless of party, wealth, or personal connections. In return, those
candidates would say no to special interest contributions so they're
beholden to the voters alone.
As a former U.S. Senator, I got to experience the thrill of public
service and the frustration of a system increasingly beholden to
special interests. But for all the mounting influence of big money in
Washington, one thing at least remains true today as it did when I
served: the voices of citizens standing firm for positive change can
and do get through. I can think of countless times in the Senate when
hearing from my constituents gave me the firepower to act on an
important conviction and made all the difference.
I ask you to tell your representatives in Washington that
you're counting on them to end the endless money chase and restore
public confidence in government by cosponsoring the Fair Elections Now
Act today. And I urge you to multiply your impact by recruiting your
friends and neighbors to the cause, writing and calling your
representatives and local press, visiting their district offices, and
joining the You Street campaign.
The overwhelming majority of Americans support Fair Elections,
Congressional leaders say they support our bill, and the President has
said he'll sign it into law. Now it's up to us. Click here to join the
thousands of Americans telling Congress and the Supreme Court that the
days of big money in Washington are numbered and the time for real
reform is now!
Folks, we have a problem. It's bigger than healthcare, global
warming, and the economy because it cuts to the heart of every big
issue we face.
The symptoms of this problem are clear:
Instead of doing the nation's business, elected officials are
spending a third of their time or more dialing for special interest
dollars in never-ending campaigns for reelection. Industry lobbyists
are helping to write the very bills in Congress that affect their
bottom line, placing private profit ahead of the public good. Billions
of taxpayer dollars are going to benefit big contributors through
earmarks, subsidies, and special regulations. And that is only the
beginning.
The problem is big money in politics.
We've known this all along. Nine in ten Americans believe Congress
does not listen to the needs of average citizens. Eight in ten are
concerned that big spending by big interests is preventing Congress
from meeting the enormous challenges facing our nation today.
And just when we thought that corporations had amassed as much
political power as any non-human legal entity lacking constitutional
protection possibly could, a slim majority of the U.S. Supreme Court
today decided otherwise. Led by Chief Justice John Roberts, the Supreme
Court has overturned decades' worth of established precedent limiting
corporate money in federal elections in Citizens United v. FEC, thereby
opening the floodgates to unlimited corporate spending.
What does this ruling mean? Consider the influence a single corporation
like Exxon Mobil could wield in the upcoming energy and climate debate
if it is able to not only lobby on Capitol Hill but spend unlimited
sums on the election or defeat of candidates. With $85 billion in
profits during the 2008 election, Exxon Mobil would have been able to
fully fund over 65,000 winning campaigns for U.S. House or outspend
every candidate by a factor of 90 to 1. That's a scary proposition when
you consider that the health of our planet is at stake.
The Supreme Court and the special interests have spoken. It's time for the people to respond.
That's where you come in. Believe it or not, there's a solution to this
problem already working in seven states and now moving ahead in
Congress. The Fair Elections Now Act, introduced by congressional
leaders in the Senate and House, would let qualifying candidates
combine small citizen donations with matching public funds rather than
campaign on corporate money. It's picked up over 120 bipartisan
cosponsors who are sick and tired of dialing for special interest
dollars, and the program has long been upheld as constitutional by the
Supreme Court.
Because free speech isn't free when only the rich are heard, the
Fair Elections Now Act would cherish the First Amendment by providing
opportunities for real political expression to qualified candidates
regardless of party, wealth, or personal connections. In return, those
candidates would say no to special interest contributions so they're
beholden to the voters alone.
As a former U.S. Senator, I got to experience the thrill of public
service and the frustration of a system increasingly beholden to
special interests. But for all the mounting influence of big money in
Washington, one thing at least remains true today as it did when I
served: the voices of citizens standing firm for positive change can
and do get through. I can think of countless times in the Senate when
hearing from my constituents gave me the firepower to act on an
important conviction and made all the difference.
I ask you to tell your representatives in Washington that
you're counting on them to end the endless money chase and restore
public confidence in government by cosponsoring the Fair Elections Now
Act today. And I urge you to multiply your impact by recruiting your
friends and neighbors to the cause, writing and calling your
representatives and local press, visiting their district offices, and
joining the You Street campaign.
The overwhelming majority of Americans support Fair Elections,
Congressional leaders say they support our bill, and the President has
said he'll sign it into law. Now it's up to us. Click here to join the
thousands of Americans telling Congress and the Supreme Court that the
days of big money in Washington are numbered and the time for real
reform is now!
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.