Cross-posted from The Nation
If two dozen billionaires were using their wealth to effectively buy
the 2012 election, it would be time for patriots to mount a bold
response on behalf of democracy itself.
Well, that time has come.
US Senator Bernie Sanders,
I-Vermont, revealed for the first time in Senate testimony Tuesday that
at least 23 billionaire families have contributed a minimum
of $250,000 each so far in this year's campaigns.
"My guess is that number is really much greater because many of these
contributions are made in secret. In other words, not content to own
our economy, the 1 percent want to own our government as well," Sanders
told the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights.
The subcommittee's "Taking Back Our Democracy: Responding to Citizens
United and the Rise of Super PACs" hearing provided an important point
of reflection on the crisis created in the 2012 election cycle by what
the progressive reformers of a century ago described broadly -- and
accurately -- as "the money power." In addition to Sanders, testimony was
provided by other backers of amending the Constitution to overturn
recent US Supreme Court decisions that have eliminated barriers to the
dominance of elections by corporations and the wealthy, including Congresswoman Donna Edwards, D-Maryland, and Harvard Law School professor Lawrence Lessig.
The sense of urgency regarding money in politics was heightened Tuesday as petitions signed by 1,959,063 Americans
who want Congress to act to "restore the democratic promise of America"
were delivered by a broad consortium of groups that favor a
constitutional amendment.
Click Here to Read Whole Article
Sanders, who has emerged as an outspoken challenger of "the money
power" not just in politics but in public life more generally, was
characteristically blunt about the role that campaign spending is
playing not just in politics but in the expansion of economic inequality
in America -- a country where the wealthiest 400 individuals own more
wealth than the bottom 150 million Americans.
"What the Supreme Court did in Citizens United is to say to
these same billionaires and the corporations they control: 'You own and
control the economy, you own Wall Street, you own the coal companies,
you own the oil companies. Now, for a very small percentage of your
wealth, we're going to give you the opportunity to own the United States
government.'
"That is the essence of what Citizens United is all
about -- and that's why it must be overturned," said Sanders, who has
proposed a constitutional amendment to restore equal free-speech rights
to all citizens.
The senator's "Saving American Democracy Amendment" (along with a
House measure sponsored by Congressman Ted Deutch, D-Florida), would
affirm "that for-profit corporations are not people, that they are not
entitled to any rights under the Constitution, that they are subject to
regulation by state legislatures consistent with free press protections,
and that they are prohibited from making contributions or expenditures
in political campaigns."
In addition, the amendment would restore tha authority of the elected
representatives of the American people -- at the national and state
levels -- to regulate and limit all political expenditures and
contributions.
"I'm proud to say the American people are making their voices heard
on this issue -- they are telling us loud and clear it is time to reverse
the trend," said Sanders, who noted that Vermont and five other states
have adopted resolutions asking Congress for a constitutional amendment
to overturn the Citizens United decision, as have more than 200 local governments nationwide.
To learn more about grassroots efforts to generate support for
amending the Constitution to restore equal free speech for Americans,
check out Democracy Is For People,
which has been active in organizing in Vermont (where 60 towns
backed amendment resolutions) and other states. Or check out the work of
Move to Amend and Free Speech for People.
Echoing Sanders's themes, many of the groups that were involved in the drive to collect the almost 2 million pro-amendment signatures on the petitions delivered Tuesday have adopted a "United for the People" common statement of purpose that sums things up well.
Next Page 1 | 2
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
John Nichols, a pioneering political blogger, has written the Online Beat since 1999. His posts have been circulated internationally, quoted in numerous books and mentioned in debates on the floor of Congress.
Nichols writes about (more...)
4
1
1
