Romney agrees: “We’ve got to get the money out of the teachers unions going into campaigns.” Posted on September 26, 2012 (October 16, 2020) Democracy Amendments It’s being widely reported that Mitt Romney yesterday called for limits on campaign spending by teachers’ unions. A blog post at The Nation puts this succinctly in perspective. The constitutional amendments we support would even-handedly enable the elimination of politcal contributions from for-profit corporations, incorporated non-profits, and incorporated labor unions alike. (For more on this, see our analysis of various bills here.) Read More
Report: Citizens United ruling accounts for 78 percent of 2012 election spending Posted on September 26, 2012 (October 16, 2020) Challenging Super PACs By Adam Gabbatt, The GuardianMonday, September 24, 2012 (Excerpt:) Almost $465m of outside money has been spent on the US presidential election campaign so far, including $365m that can be attributed to the supreme court’s landmark Citizens United ruling, according to a report released on Monday. Super Pacs, which came into effect following the 2010 Citizens United verdict, accounted for $272m of the expenditure in the study, conducted by the Sunlight Foundation, a non-profit organisation devoted to increasing transparency in government. Read More
Trevor Potter, former FEC Commissioner (R), on Citizens United, why corporations shouldn’t participate in our elections Posted on September 25, 2012 (October 16, 2020) Challenging Super PACs Bill Moyers’ latest video is an interview with Trevor Potter, a Republican former Commissioner of the Federal Election Commission, best known as Stephen Colbert’s attorney and also Senator John McCain’s former General Counsel. Mr. Potter makes several important points in the 45-minute interview. Here are some of the choicest excerpts, below (not in chronological order): Read More
Local protest targets business, elections Posted on September 24, 2012 (October 15, 2020) Democracy Amendments News & Record – Greensboro, North Carolina Amanda Lehmert September 24, 2012 Local advocates have joined a national protest against corporate influence over elections. Read More
Latest poll: 83% want limits on campaign spending by corporations, unions, and other organizations. Posted on September 17, 2012 (October 15, 2020) Democracy Amendments Poll: Americans largely in favor of campaign spending limitationsby Morgan LittleThe Los Angeles Times, September 16, 2012 Excerpt: Read More
8 down, 30 to go: Connecticut becomes 8th state to call for a constitutional amendment. Posted on September 13, 2012 (October 15, 2020) Democracy Amendments A majority of Connecticut’s state legislators in both chambers — 88 state representatives and 22 state senators — have signed a letter calling on Congress to pass a constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. This makes Connecticut the 8th state to call for an amendment, joining California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Vermont, which have all passed legislative resolutions, and Maryland, where a majority of legislators have signed a letter similar to this one in Connecticut. Read More
Justice Scalia encourages amending the Constitution in response to Citizens United. Posted on September 11, 2012 (October 15, 2020) Democracy Amendments U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, a noted conservative who was among the signers of the Court’s 5-4 majority opinion in Citizens United, last week called on those of us — 80% of Americans, according to polls — who disagree with that decision to respond by amending the Constitution. According to the Las Vegas Sun-Journal, the following exchange took place Wednesday, Sept. 5th between Scalia and Kathy Kama, a law student at the University at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas: Read More
Federal Appeals Court Strikes Minn. Disclosure Law, Aiding Corporate America’s Political Power Posted on September 7, 2012 (October 15, 2020) Democracy Amendments Jeremy Leaming American Constitution Society Blog September 6, 2012 "A federal appeals court has provided another victory for corporate America’s efforts to influence politicians, political parties and the nation’s elections. Big business hardly needed such a victory, especially since the U.S. Supreme Court in Citizens United v. FEC scrapped some significant campaign finance regulation laws thereby making it far easier for corporations to spend boatloads of money on local, state and federal elections of all kinds. Read More
Great News in Colorado: Initiative aimed at big campaign money makes November ballot (Denver Post) Posted on September 6, 2012 (October 15, 2020) Democracy Amendments Initiative aimed at big campaign money makes November ballot By Tim Hoover The Denver Post Read More
President Obama Joins Call to Overturn Citizens United with a Constitutional Amendment Posted on August 30, 2012 (October 1, 2020) Democracy Amendments In a chat with the website Reddit, President Obama called for serious look at a constitutional amendment to reverse the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling. "Over the longer term, I think we need to seriously consider mobilizing a constitutional amendment process to overturn Citizens United (assuming the Supreme Court doesn’t revisit it). Even if the amendment process falls short, it can shine a spotlight of the super-PAC phenomenon and help apply pressure for change," Obama wrote. Read More