In England, athletes from around the world are competing in the Olympic Games, proudly representing their nations and embodying the essence of sportsmanship as they push each other to the peaks of human athletic achievement.
In America, a far less wholesome contest is playing out as multinational corporations and insatiable billionaires with no allegiance to country vie to outspend each other corrupting our elections.
It’s the Oligarch Olympiad.
With medals for greed, secrets and bribes.
We don’t know who’s “winning” because so much of the havoc they’re wreaking is happening in the dark.
But we know what we risk losing.
Our common sense: Corporations are not people.
Our principles: One person, one vote.
Our democracy: Of the people, by the people, for the people.
Fortunately, we are not mere spectators to this game.
With Public Citizen, you are part of a team that is defending democracy from an assault by the most gluttonous forces in our society.
Look what we’ve accomplished together in just the few weeks since my previous update on our campaign for a constitutional amendment to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s rotten Citizens United v. FEC ruling:
- With Public Citizen organizers and activists leading the way, Massachusetts this week became the seventh state to pass a resolution calling for an amendment.
- In only a month, a petition drive in Colorado spearheaded by a coalition including Public Citizen collected enough signatures (100,000 and counting) to put an amendment resolution on the state’s ballot this November.
- We’re ramping up our work in other states, including New Jersey and Montana, generating more and more amendment momentum.
- Last week, the U.S. Senate held its first formal hearing on a possible amendment after intensive pressure from Public Citizen and our allies.
- Public Citizen supporters in the Windy City were instrumental in the Chicago City Council’s passage of an amendment resolution last week. Activists from Public Citizen and partner organizations have helped advance resolutions in over 400 cities and towns throughout the country, with many more on the horizon.
- We’ve launched a campaign to help people in every state meet with their representative and senators during the congressional recess this month to drive up demand for a constitutional amendment in Congress. Our goal for this phase of the campaign: 100 amendment supporters in the U.S. House of Representatives by the end of 2012.
It is impressive what we get done together — all the more so because we do it on a human scale despite inhuman adversaries.
We must capitalize on this momentum.
These incremental victories put us on the path to defeating a foe that would undo a century of progress.
It’s true they have more money. We don’t need as much as they have.
We just need a little bit from every person like you who knows that corporate greed must be kept in check.
If you think I ask for your support too much, I understand. Keep signing our petitions, contacting your members of Congress, and taking the other actions we tell you about in our e-alerts.
But bear this in mind:
- Karl Rove is spending every dirty dollar he can get his grubby hands on.
- The Koch Brothers are behaving like the robber barons of a rightly bygone era.
- Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson may spend as much gambling with our democracy this year as it would take to run Public Citizen for the rest of this decade.
Are you with me?
 | | Onward,
Robert Weissman
President, Public Citizen |
P.S. If you haven’t given to Public Citizen before, can you kick in $3 or more so that we can do even more good work together? If you have given to Public Citizen before, and if you can, please give again. We can’t let them win. |
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