Citizens United to End Political Bribery (Working Group)

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Overview

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (CUEPB) is a Working Group pursuing the goal of getting corporate money out of politics.  We focus on realistic actions in Massachusetts, but also extend our efforts to nationwide politics.  This wiki page serves 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.

  • Contact us at citizensunited@occupyboston.org
  • Sign up to join our email list by clicking here. 
  • Visit our website here for a list of groups, events, and actions.

Main Events on January 20-21

On the January 20–21 anniversary of the Citizens United decision,  a wide coalition of groups will stand together for GETTING MONEY OUT OF POLITICS! Here is a list of events taking place on those dates

Meetings:

Agenda for Jan 16 Conference Call at 7pm (218-844-3377, access code 735433#)

1) Discuss and approve the schedule Laura sent out (30 minutes) - if you have any comments or changes to suggest before the call, please send them to us.  At the call, we'll first summarize any unresolved issues and then discuss how they can be resolved.

2) Plan the next action (30 minutes) - A common theme from Wedensday's meeting was that we need to have clear actions for what the Rally/Summit attendees can do next.  One idea is a concerted lobbying effort to get a hearing for S772.  We are open to discussing other ideas, but whatever is decided, it should be determined which group(s) will take the lead.
  • MassVOTE has been talking about making a petition for people to do on/offline to the legislature on the resolution. They could bring that as a first step for people to do on the 20/21st and then reach back out to people about hearing dates, lobby dates, etc. Alternatively they could have the petition and maybe already have a lobby day scheduled that people can commit to. 

3) Any other remaining issues that need to be discussed (30 minutes)

Minutes from Previous Meetings

Background Information:

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Opinion

  • The minority dissenting opinion quoted at this link gives arguments against the Supreme Court's majority opinion. After a summary, the opinion continues (not quoted here,) describing in detail the laws and rulings related to corporate personhood.
  • Under U.S. law, a corporation is a "corporate veil," protecting individuals inside a company from being prosecuted for the actions of the business. In 1886 the U.S. Supreme Court decided that corporations are entitled to many rights accorded to citizens, in its decision of Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Rail Road Co.
  • In 1907 Congress passed the Tillman Act, prohibiting corporations from donating money directly to national political campaigns. This still holds, but in January 2010 the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 (in Citizens United v. FEC) that corporations can spend unlimited amounts on political advertisements as long as they don't directly coordinate that spending with an actual candidate.
  • The Citizens United v. FEC decision invalidated protections that had existed in Massachusetts General Law, according to a March, 2010 ruling of the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance. Many bills are now being introduced in Massachusetts and at the federal level to counteract the wide effects of last year's Supreme Court decision by restricting corporate money from influencing politics.

Campaign Finance Legislation (passed and pending)

  • Click here for a list of legislation

Additional Resources




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