I signed Public Campaign’s most recent petition supporting the Fair Elections Now Act (S.752, H.R.1826) finally introduced in both houses of Congress. The bills provide for optional public financing of U.S. Congressional races. Given the interesting correlations between special interest campaign contributions and a candidate’s support for specific policies, this is the fundamental political reform requisite for meaningful public interest driven change in virtually any other domain.
We MUST have campaign reform. It must be done or we are irrelevant in our own government
The beauty of the Internet would make it much easier to get signatures than ever in our history. If we could get people like Bill Moyers, Keith Olberman, Ed Shultz and their counterparts on the right to back say an amendment, we could do it. What citizen would not sign a petition to stop corruption? Then we can say we are taking our country back.
I see on the liberal, republican, and libertarian sites voters like ourselves all cry for campaign reform.
Seventy-four percent of voters support a proposal for voluntary public funding of federal elections.
Support for public financing of Congressional elections cuts across party lines. Eighty percent of Democrats, 78 percent of Independents, and almost two-thirds of Republicans support this reform.
Fully 82 percent of voters believe it is likely that, as a result of publicly financed elections, candidates will win office based on their ideas, not because of the money they raise, and 81 percent believe it is likely politicians will be more accountable to voters instead of large contributors. Additionally, 77 percent felt that special interests will not receive as many favors, tax breaks, and deals from politicians.
Less than two-tenths of 1 percent of the U.S. population gave 86 percent of all itemized campaign contributions for the 2004 elections.
The top 1 percent owns more wealth then the bottom 90 percent. CEOs of large corporations earn 400 times what their workers make.
It is the one thing that voters of all ideologies recognize is essential for honest government.
The one thing ALL voters agree on is that our system is corrupt.
Campaign Reform would heal the split of the American people that big money has encouraged in order to weaken us and keep us fighting with each other.