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ISSUES

Money & Politics

 

Get Big Money Out of Politics

At the presidential level, the existing public financing program is woefully outdated and, unless fixed, will likely be bypassed by the major party candidates in 2008. Your call will let your senators know that you're concerned about the role of big money in politics.

You can reach your senators at 202-224-3121.

Here's a sample message you can leave:
 "Hi my name is _____ and I'm calling from ________. I'm calling to ask you to co-sponsor the Fair Elections Now Act (S. 1285) and the Presidential Public Financing Act (S. 436), which would provide candidates who agree to spending limits and reject special interest money with public financing for their races."

Once you've made the call please take a moment to fill out the form below.

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Corporations Are Not People

Don't Let Their Money Drown Out My Voice!

The Supreme Court is considering setting aside 100 years of precedent with a ruling that would dramatically INCREASE the amount of corporate money in politics and elections.

Please write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper (sample below), before our justices get too far down the wrong path.

 

Sample letter
Corporations Are Not People, So Don't Let Their Money Drown Out My Voice!

As someone who believes strongly in civic participation, the idea that a corporation — which the Supreme Court has called an "artificial entity," and that is made up of individual shareholders and employees with different political beliefs — could be allowed to spend directly from its massive corporate treasury on ads for or against a candidate is truly frightening.

A corporation is not, nor has it ever been, a person with voting rights. Corporations are not our neighbors, they cannot get married, they cannot die, and a corporation has never been a constituent member of "We the People."

However, a decision in favor of the plaintiff in Citizen's United vs. the Federal Election Commission — the controversial case that was reheard in Washington on September 9th — would allow corporations to use their immense wealth to loudly promote or attack candidates through unlimited expenditures on ads.

Barack Obama sailed into Washington on a wave of change, buoyed by small donations he received from millions of American citizens. To suddenly decide that those voices should be drowned out by the massive accumulated money of a single "corporate person," runs counter to the very ideals of a representative democracy.
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Tell our senators: Support the DISCLOSE Act

Will the winners in November elections feel accountable to you or to the companies that backed them?

Without a national disclosure law, we won't know which corporations are behind the ads they buy.

The House has already passed this measure, and the Senate has only a few weeks in September before members head home to campaign.

Please sign the petition to our senators, urging them to support the DISCLOSE Act.



Petition Text

Dear Senators,

Please support the DISCLOSE Act, and oppose any efforts to filibuster this legislation.

Passage of this critical transparency legislation is essential to provide voters with critical information about which groups are spending money to influence federal elections.

The DISCLOSE Act has been made vital by the Citizens United decision; please support it when it comes to the floor.

 

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Other Actions

Thank Speaker Pelosi for her work on ethics Thank Speaker Pelosi for her work on ethics
 
New Hampshire Public Interest Research Group: 30 S. Main St., Suite 301-A, Concord, NH 03301, (603) 229-1343