Marge Baker, Executive Vice President for Policy and Program, People For the American Way & People For the American Way Foundation is featured today on The Huffington Post speaking of the ‘real’ issues we face following this week’s Senate vote.

Of the Senate vote, Baker writes:

“What was remarkable about the vote wasn’t the result, but why it happened at all. Since the day Citizens United was handed down, Americans across the political spectrum have rejected its reasoning. Even while pundits were explaining that the constitutional amendment would never receive widespread support, grassroots activists were organizing on a massive scale to demand exactly that.

In the weeks leading up to the floor vote, petition deliveries and rallies in support of the amendment — which would restore legislators’ ability to set reasonable limits on money in elections — happened in 21 states. We heard from Senate staff that their offices were flooded with calls, with more than 15,000 calls in support of the amendment coming in this week alone. More than three million Americans signed their name to a petition calling for an amendment. Not to mention the activists across the country who have for years been pushing, successfully, for hundreds of state and local resolutions in support of overturning decisions like Citizens United.”

She continues:

“This is how democracy is supposed to work. Citizens and activists who feel passionately about an issue make their views clear and their elected officials respond. Yes, there were committed leaders within the Senate who pushed hard for the Democracy For All amendment, but the movement demanding the Senate debate the issue was driven by the grassroots.”

We agree. This is just the beginning of an ongoing movement.

In the words of Senator Chuck Schumer, “We are going to keep fighting until we get this done. The only way really to cure the Supreme Court’s misguided ruling, whether it is in Citizens United or McCutcheon, is with a constitutional amendment. Our day will come. We are not giving up.”

 

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