Citizens United to End Political Bribery (Working Group)
Citizens United to End Political Bribery (CUEPB) is a Working Group formed to pursue goals related to getting corporate money out of politics. We will focus on realistic actions in Massachusetts, but will also extend our efforts to nationwide politics when we can. This wiki page and its subsidiary pages will be our place to collect information and discuss ideas before bringing proposals to Occupy Boston General Assembly. Everything here should be considered a draft, unless conspicuously labeled otherwise. To participate, come to one of our scheduled meetings or comment on the discussion tab for a page. You can also edit a page, but we'd like to know who's involved, so please introduce yourself somewhere in some fashion.
Meetings:
Open Discussion 3:30 this Saturday, November 12 in front of the library, on proposal to support US Constitutional Amendment to reverse Citizens United decision. This is part of the new process to make this a priority proposal to schedule on next Tuesday's General Assembly (Nov. 15.)
Next Meeting will be: TBD
Proposal
As money has been a corrupting force in our democracy, and disproportionately favors the desires of the few over the needs of the many, Occupy Boston supports the "Constitutional Amendment to Reform Campaign Finance" introduced in the Senate last week allowing Congress and the states to limit money in politics.
The text of the amendment is: S. J. RES. 29 Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to contributions and expenditures intended to affect elections. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 1, 2011 Mr. UDALL of New Mexico (for himself, Mr. BENNET, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. BEGICH, and Mrs. SHAHEEN) introduced the following joint resolution; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
JOINT RESOLUTION Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the UnitedStates relating to contributions and expenditures intended to affect elections.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years after the date of its submission by the Congress:
‘‘ARTICLE— ‘‘SECTION 1. Congress shall have power to regulate the raising and spending of money and in kind equivalents with respect to Federal elections, including through setting limits on— ‘‘(1) the amount of contributions to candidates for nomination for election to, or for election to, Federal office; and ‘‘(2) the amount of expenditures that may be made by, in support of, or in opposition to such candidates. ‘‘SECTION 2. A State shall have power to regulate the raising and spending of money and in kind equivalents with respect to State elections, including through setting limits on— ‘‘(1) the amount of contributions to candidates for nomination for election to, or for election to, State office; and ‘‘(2) the amount of expenditures that may be made by, in support of, or in opposition to such candidates. ‘‘SECTION 3. Congress shall have power to implement and enforce this article by appropriate legislation.’’
Next Steps Agreed on:
Gather interested people - People are invited to participate here and/or email sandersh6000@gmail.com to identify themselves as part of this Working Group.
Collect and summarize information on the wiki - Edit the Background Information pages below to add links and/or summarize what's in a link.
Other Ideas Not Endorsed in a Meeting:
Decide if we support proposed state legislation Bill S.305 “Massachusetts Corporate Accountability Act of 2011." If so, the next step might be to have Brookline/Brighton residents find outMichael Moran's plans for calling a committee vote on the bill.
Attend outside (not Occupy Boston) meeting against Citizens United, to be held at 7:00 Thursday, Nov. 17 at the Arlington St. Church (near intersection with Boylston St.)
Attend (or watch livestream) Northeastern's Teach In on Sunday, Nov. 13 about the state of the economy, especially the afternoon sessions:
- 12:30 – 2:00 Politics and economics: what went wrong?
- 2:15 – 3:45 What can be done? Reclaiming our economy and our democracy.
Get involved in Move to Amend's Occupy the Courts on the anniversary of Citizens United (January 20, 2012).
Get involved in Public Citizen's Democracy is for the People action on the anniversary of Citizens United (January 21, 2012).
Sub-topics:
Background Information:
Campaign Finance Legislation (passed and pending)
Campaign Finance Institute (Nonpartisan? Resource)
Jack Abramoff: How to End Corruption (in Politico.com)
Contact:
Honi Sanders: sandersh6000 at gmail dot com