Amend 2012 to Reclaim Democracy

Two years ago today, the U.S. Supreme Court handed American corporations a license to take control of our elections and our government. We’re determined to make this second anniversary the last, and a growing citizens’ movement is underway to get big money out of our politics put the people back in charge.

Amend 2012, a campaign we launched this week, will help voters send Congress a clear message: Corporations are not people, money is not speech, and our Constitution must be amended so that the corrupting power of corporate money in our elections can be brought under control.

Polls show that four out of five voters think Citizens United is wrong, that corporations should stay out of our elections, and that we need reasonable spending limits to keep powerful special interests from drowning out the voices of the rest of us.

Our goal is to secure ballot measures in all 50 states stating that corporations are not people and campaign spending can be regulated. We believe a message delivered by voters at the ballot box will be impossible for elected officials to ignore, no matter how many millions of dollars the special interests throw at them. Already, people across the country are pushing–and winning–passage of local resolutions to denounce Citizens United and call for a return to common sense.

This strategy has the potential to reengage disenchanted voters and will inject issues of corporate control and big money in politics directly into the presidential and key congressional races.  It is a bottom-up, grassroots effort, designed to give activists the tools they need to force the issue into the 2012 elections. Right now, there is no more patriotic action you can take than to sign the petition to support government by and for the people.

Twenty-four states have laws permitting voter initiative, allowing citizens to gather signatures and put issues on the ballot. There are roughly a dozen states where there’s still an opportunity to get that done during 2012 and Common Cause is actively exploring potential ballot campaigns in three of them — Montana, Colorado and Massachusetts.

In states that do not have a voter initiative process, citizens can petition their state legislators to refer advisory questions to the ballot instructing Congress to pass a constitutional amendment overturning Citizens United.  In those states, Common Cause will be working to get bills introduced in the state legislature and at the municipal level and helping to lead petition drives.

Either way, voters will have a chance to use the power of the ballot box to demonstrate what we all know to be true:

Corporations are not people. They can’t vote, sign a petition, run for office, or march in front of the Supreme Court. Only people are people, and only people can reclaim our democracy.

Right now, take three minutes to do three things that will help alter the course of this country:

» Sign the petition to support government by and for the people – if we can demonstrate overwhelming support by citizens in all 50 states, we can deliver a stronger message to Congress about the need for a constitutional amendment

» Watch the video featuring Robert Reich, who explains why this matters and what every American can do to help

» Follow Amend 2012 on Facebook and share it with your friends -  47 percent of voters have not heard about Citizens United and don’t know about the danger to our democracy, or how they can help reclaim it