Subject: Re: [big campaign] SEIU: Supreme Court Opens Floodgates
From: David Donnelly <[email-masked]>
To: Lori Lodes <[email-masked]>, [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 2010 11:37:17 -0500
List-Id: <bigcampaign.googlegroups.com>

Here¹s ours. Great to see this.

Supreme Court Decision Creates Political Crisis
Congress Must Act to Pass Comprehensive Reform
of Nation¹s Elections Laws, Reform Groups Say
 
Washington, DC  The Supreme Court of the United States handed down a
decision today that will enhance the ability of the deepest-pocketed special
interests to influence elections and the U.S. Congress, said a pair of
leading national campaign finance reform organizations, Common Cause and
Public Campaign. The decision in Citizens United v. the Federal Election
Commission, which overturned the ban on independent expenditures by
corporations, paves the way for unlimited corporate and union spending in
elections.
 
This decision means more business as usual in Washington, stomping on
voters¹ hope for change,² said Nick Nyhart, president and CEO of Public
Campaign. ³Congress must take on the insider Washington money culture if it
wants to make the changes voters are demanding. The way to do that is by
passing the Fair Elections Now Act.²
 
³The Roberts court today made a bad situation worse,² said Common Cause
President Bob Edgar. ³This decision allows Wall Street to tap its vast
corporate profits to drown out the voice of the public in our democracy.²
 
³The path from here is clear: Congress must free itself from Wall Street¹s
grip so Main Street can finally get a fair shake,² Edgar continued. ³We need
to change the way America pays for elections. Passing the Fair Elections Now
Act would give us the best Congress money can¹t buy.²
 
The Fair Elections Now Act (S.752 and H.R. 1826) was introduced by Senate
Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and House Democratic Caucus
Chairman John Larson (D-Conn.). In the House, the bipartisan bill has
attracted 125 additional cosponsors. Both bills blend small donor
fundraising with public funding to reduce the pressure of fundraising from
big contributors.
 
# # # 
Common Cause is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to
restoring the core values of American democracy, reinventing an open,
honest, and accountable government that works for the public interest, and
empowering ordinary people to make their voices heard.
 
Public Campaign is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to
sweeping campaign reform that aims to dramatically reduce the role of big
special interest money in American politics.

On 1/21/10 11:25 AM, "Lori Lodes" <[email-masked]> wrote:

> Following up on the other releases, here is our release regarding the
> decision.
> 
>  
> Batten Down the Hatches: Supreme Court Opens Floodgates for Corporate Spending
> in Elections
>  
> Americans deserve accountability, transparency and ethical standards for
> corporate electoral activity in light of the Supreme Court¹s decision in
> Citizens United says SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger
>  
> WASHINGTON, DC‹Anna Burger, SEIU Secretary-Treasurer and Chair of the Change
> to Win labor federation, released the following statement condemning today¹s
> United States Supreme Court decision Citizens United v. Federal Election
> Commission: 
>  
> ³Today the US Supreme Court lifted the floodgates and started dismantling
> century-old restrictions on corporate electoral activity in the name of the
> Œfree speech rights¹ of corporations‹meaning if you are a Œcorporate person¹
> (aka a CEO or corporate official), you are now free to hit the corporate ATM
> and spend whatever of your shareholders¹ money it takes to elect the
> candidates of your choice.
> ³Unlimited corporate spending in federal elections threatens to drown out the
> voices of the people who should really be at the center of the political
> process, i.e., voters and candidates.  Unleashing corporate spending will only
> serve to distort and ultimately delegitimize the electoral process. 
> ³Let¹s be clear: corporations have already been shilling out a lot of cash for
> political activities, letting their shareholders and managerial employees know
> exactly which candidates they want to win or lose elections and paying heavy
> sums for attack ads, direct mail and other forms of public communication
> through PACs.
> ³But with today¹s Citizens United decision, the Court has given corporate
> managers the greenlight to bypass the checks and balances, use unlimited
> amounts from the general treasury funds that should be used to increase the
> value of the business or pay dividends to shareholders‹to instead pay for
> public communications expressly advocating the election or defeat of the
> candidates of their choice. 
> ³Our democratic process was meant to protect the people not profit margins and
> today¹s decision makes the need for an effective system for public funding,
> effective disclosure regulations, and other reforms of federal elections all
> the more pressing. 
> ³We look forward to working with concerned individuals, officials and groups
> to remedy to the greatest degree possible the unfortunate consequences of this
> Supreme Court decision, through legislation and other appropriate means.²
>   
> # # # 
>   
> With 2.2 million members in Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico, SEIU is
> the fastest-growing union in the Americas. Focused on uniting workers in
> healthcare, public services and property services, SEIU members are winning
> better wages, healthcare and more secure jobs for our communities, while
> uniting their strength with their counterparts around the world to help ensure
> that workers -- not just corporations and CEOs -- benefit from today's global
> economy. 
> 
> 
> 
> 

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