SD 1488: Undoing Citizens United

If you are concerned with excess corporate political power, can you please ask your state Representative and Senator to cosponsor, by the deadline of Friday, Feb. 4, Sen. Jamie Eldridge’s resolution to overturn or modify the Citizens United v. F.E.C. decision allowing corporations to spend unlimited funds for political advocacy?

Please phone your legislators and email them. A letter to legislators giving much information is below.

You can use it or write your own.

Please give the legislators your contact information.

All Massachusetts legislators’ contact information is at http://www.malegislature.gov/People/House, and
http://www.malegislature.gov/People/Senate

Specific contact information for Cape area legislators is at the bottom of this email.

The greater the number of cosponsors, the greater the chance of passage of this important initiative to rein in excess corporate political influence.

Your passing on responses from legislators would be appreciated.

Thank you.

John Nichols




Dear ...

Can you please cosponsor, by the deadline of Friday, Feb. 4, Sen. Jamie Eldridge’s resolution,

SD. 1488, which states: NOW BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS HEREBY CALLS UPON THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO PASS AND SEND TO THE STATES FOR RATIFICATION A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO RESTORE THE FIRST AMENDMENT AND FAIR ELECTIONS TO THE PEOPLE. (The full resolution is given below.)

The resolution encourages Congress to pass a constitutional amendment overturning or modifying the Citizens United v. F.E.C. decision allowing corporations to spend unlimited funds for political advocacy. The resolution is written broadly to accommodate a wide range of Congressional actions.

The cosponsorship deadline is 5 p.m. Friday. Feb. 4.

You can get more information at Sen Eldridge’s website: http://www.senatoreldridge.com/legislation/jamies-2011-2012-legislation/elections-campaign-finance-ethics-reform or by emailing his legislative aide, Brendan.Jarboe@MASenate.gov (There is a dot between Brendan and Jarboe.) Sen. Eldridge’s phone number is 617-722-1120.

Congress members have proposed six constitutional amendments, all allowing Congress and the states to regulate corporate political spending. http://freespeechforpeople.org/node/162 Having the most cosponsors (26) is H.R. 74 by Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD), which states “Congress and the States may regulate the expenditure of funds for political speech by any corporation, limited liability company, or other corporate entity.”

To reverse Citizens United requires a Constitutional amendment. Passage of the Eldridge resolution is expected to increase public awareness, cause other states’ legislators to introduce resolutions (as was done in VT this year, and in CA and WA in 2010), pressure Congress to pass an amendment, and stimulate lesser reforms such as disclosure of funding, public financing of elections, paper ballots, and perhaps reinstituting the Fairness Doctrine.

Polls have consistently shown almost 80 percent of Americans (including 67-77% of Republicans) oppose the Citizens United decision and think corporations have too much political power.

Among organizations advocating an amendment are Free Speech for People (FSFP) headed by Jeff Clements and John Bonifaz, (http://www.freespeechforpeople.org ), Move to Amend (MTA) (http://www.movetoamend.org), and Progressive Democrats of America (http://www.PDAmerica.org), which organizations have broad support. Among FSFP sponsors are voteraction.org, uspirg.org, Public Citizen [citizen.org] and the American Independent Business Alliance. MTA sponsors/endorsers include Progressive Democrats of America, National Lawyers Guild, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Program on Corporations and Law in Democracy (POCLAD), Alliance for Democracy, Family Farm Defenders, Reclaim Democracy, and Center for Media and Democracy,

Sen Eldridge has filed several related bills for which your cosponsorship is invited: (summaries are given on his website) They are An Act relative to accountability for corporate political spending (SD. 1531), An Act relative to disclosure of political spending (SD 1530), as well as An Act restoring public confidence in government by eliminating “pay-to-play” opportunities and An Act relative to fair elections in Massachusetts (“Clean Elections”),

Please cosponsor Sen. Eldridge’s amendment to RESTORE THE FIRST AMENDMENT AND FAIR ELECTIONS TO THE PEOPLE (SD. 1488) now, before the deadline of 5 p.m. Friday Feb. 4.

Thank you!

John Nichols
P.O. Box 96
East Orleans, MA 02643
508-255-5344
nikos27@earthlink.net


The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the Year Two Thousand and Eleven
_______________
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS the First Amendment to the United States Constitution was designed to protect the free speech rights of people, not corporations;
WHEREAS, for the past three decades, a divided United States Supreme Court has transformed the First Amendment into a powerful tool for corporations seeking to evade and invalidate democratically-enacted reforms;
WHEREAS, this corporate takeover of the First Amendment has reached its extreme conclusion in the United States Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Citizens United v. FEC;
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. FEC overturned longstanding precedent prohibiting corporations from spending their general treasury funds in our elections;
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. FEC will now unleash a torrent of corporate money in our political process unmatched by any campaign expenditure totals in United States history;
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. FEC presents a serious and direct threat to our democracy;
WHEREAS, the people of the United States have previously used the constitutional amendment process to correct those egregiously wrong decisions of the United States Supreme Court that go to the heart of our democracy and self-government;

NOW BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS HEREBY CALLS UPON THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO PASS AND SEND TO THE STATES FOR RATIFICATION A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO RESTORE THE FIRST AMENDMENT AND FAIR ELECTIONS TO THE PEOPLE.

MA Legislators’ Contact Information

http://www.malegislature.gov/People/House

http://www.malegislature.gov/People/Senate

All legislators’ snail mail addresses are State House, Room #, Boston, MA 02133;


Robert A DeLeo (D) Speaker of the House, (Winthrop; Revere precincts 1, 2 of Ward 1, Ward 2 [all], precincts 2, 3 of Ward 3, precinct 3 of Ward 5) Robert.Deleo@MaHouse.gov Room 356, 617-722-2500

Cory.Atkins@mahouse.gov (D) (Acton precincts 1, 2, 6; Carlisle, Concord, Chelmsford precincts 1, 9) Room 166, 617-722-2692

William.Straus@mahouse.gov (D) (Fairhaven, Marion, Mattapoisett, Rochester, Middleboro precincts 3, 6) Room 473F 617-722-2210

Demetrius J. Atsalis (D) (Barnstable, precincts 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 13, Yarmouth precincts 3, 5, 6) Demetrius.Atsalis@mahouse.gov Room 167 617-722-2810

Susan Williams Gifford (R) (Bourne precincts 1, 2, 3; Carver, Wareham) Susan.Gifford@mahouse.gov Room 542 617-722-2976

Timothy R. Madden (D) (Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, Falmouth precincts 1, 2, 5, 6) Timothy.Madden@mahouse.gov Room 167 617-722-2810

Sarah K. Peake (D) (Chatham, Harwich, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, Provincetown) Sarah.Peake@mahouse.gov Room 473F 617-722-2210

David T. Vieira (R) (Falmouth precincts 3, 4, 7, 8, 9; Mashpee precincts 2, 4, 5; Bourne precincts 5, 6; Barnstable precincts 5, 7) david.vieira@mahouse.gov Room B2 617-722-2425

Cleon H. Turner (D) (Brewster, Dennis, Yarmouth precincts 1, 2 ,4, 7) Cleon.Turner@mahouse.gov Room 540 617-722-2090

James B. Eldridge (D) (James.Eldridge@masenate.gov (Marlboro, Acton, Ayer, Boxborough, Hudson, Littleton, Maynard, Shirley, Stow, Sudbury precincts 2, 3, 5, Harvard, Northborough precinct 5, Southborough, Westborough) Room 213-A 617-722-1120

Daniel A. Wolf (D) (Barnstable precincts 1-9, 13, Yarmouth, Mashpee, all towns between Mashpee and Barnstable through Provincetown; Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard), Daniel.Wolf@masenate.gov Room 511B 617-722-1570

Therese Murray (D) Kingston, Pembroke, Plymouth, Plympton, Barnstable precincts 10 -12, Bourne, Falmouth and Sandwich Therese.Murray@masenate.gov Suite 332 617-722-1500