Jan 20 2012
Activists Occupy the Courts, as South Carolina’s GOP Primary Field is Narrowed
Listen to the extended interview here | entire program
While GOP candidates spend today stumping for votes in tomorrow’s South Carolina presidential primary, activists will be gathered on courthouse steps nationwide to protest the 2010 Supreme Court ruling known best as Citizen’s United. Today is the 2nd anniversary of the controversial 5-4 decision in Citizen’s United v. the Federal Election Commission that defined independent spending toward elections as a form of free speech that can not be restricted. Instantly, Political Action Committees funded by corporations and deep pocketed individuals sprang-up. The super PACs unleashed a torrent of attack ads during the 2010 mid-term elections, credited to anonymous committees that are actually backed by political heavy hitters, like Crossroads GPS that is tied to Karl Rove. This year in South Carolina alone PACs and candidates have spent a record $11.3 million on ads. One TV station manager told the Huffington Post,” [c]andidates themselves…spent less than in 2008, but those super PAC’s… [are] raising money levels above what it was in 2008.”
The power of PACs to dominate an election through unaccountable donors has sparked outrage, and satire. They are a target of comedian Steven Colbert, who months ago started his own PAC, Making a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and recently transferred ownership of it to friend and fellow comedian John Stewart so Colbert could launch a tongue-in-cheek presidential campaign. Last week Colbert, a South Carolina native, reportedly polled higher than the fledgling GOP candidate John Huntsman, a source of embarrassment for Huntsman who suspended his campaign shortly after. Hunstman left the race on Monday and immediately endorsed Mitt Romney calling him, “the candidate best equipped to beat Barack Obama.” Romney’s campaign was jarred yesterday by two pieces of news that knocked him from first place. Iowa Caucus officials announced that Rick Santorum, not Romney, won the Caucus on January 3rd. Also, polls show Romney is now in a dead heat with Newt Gingrich, each supported by about 34% of Palmetto state voters. Gingrich received the endorsement of Texas Governor Rick Perry when Perry bowed out of the race yesterday, but at the same time was hit with controversy when his second wife told ABC News that Gingrich asked her for an open marriage so he could be romantically involved with the woman who is now his third wife.
GUEST: David Cobb, one of the founders, and the National Spokesperson, for the Move To Amend Coalition. He was the Green Party Candidate for President in 2004; Today he joins us from the steps of the US Supreme Court where he is MC’ing the Occupy the Courts action; Amanda Terkel, Senior Politics Reporter at the Huffington Post
Visit movetoamend.org/occupythecourts for more information and details about nationwide actions.
Los Angeles area action:
Mock Funeral Procession will Mark the “Death of Democracy” in the United States – and a Plea for its Revival – on the Second Anniversary of the Citizens United Decision
Marking the second anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling on Citizens United v. FEC, a coalition of local activists and supporters will be protesting in a mock “Funeral for Democracy” on Saturday at the Federal Building in Westwood. The tongue-in-cheek protest and performance art event will raise public awareness about the absurd ruling, which deems corporations as people and ostensibly deserving of the same “free speech” protections.
Speakers will include L.A. City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, veteran human rights activist Blase Bonpane, media personalities, military veterans, and others. For more information on the campaign to reverse the Citizens United ruling, go to: www.united4thepeople.org.
WHO: Coalition members and supporters from organizations including Move to Amend, Common Cause, People for the American Way, Public Citizen, and MoveOn.org.
WHAT: A “funeral” procession and protest, featuring a coffin for Uncle Sam to be carried by U.S. military veterans. Great visuals!
WHEN: 10:30am to 12:30pm, Saturday, January 21, 2012
WHERE: Starts at the Bank of America at Wilshire and Midvale and proceeds to the north lawn of the Federal Building, at 11000 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024.
RAIN OR SHINE THE EVENT WILL GO ON.
4 Responses to “Activists Occupy the Courts, as South Carolina’s GOP Primary Field is Narrowed”
As a member of the occupy movement and a proponent of economic justice, I realize that getting corporate and billionaire money out of politics is key to getting a government for the 99% instead of the 1% who own most members of both parties of Congress right now. Tactically speaking, though, I feel the way to make the change is not to go back to many of the same corrupt incumbents who have been blocking real campaign finance reform and public campaign financing, and expect them to vote for a Constitutional Amendment that would regulate where a majority of their campaign donations come from. The way to get money out of politics is to use our social networks to replace bribe-inducing TV ads and elect pro-99% candidates who refuse corporate money and promise to vote to ban corporate campaign contributions. We need different politicians to pass different laws and create a system that works for the 99%. That’s why I like the ten “fresh democracy” candidates who launched this week with http://www.BeYourGovernment.org . We need hundreds like them. THEY will VOTE TO AMEND in January 2013. Not the corporate bought politicians we have in Congress now.
BeYourGovernment.org supports the important policy objective of the Move to Amend effort, to end the corruption of our political system by huge corporate donations. We feel that the most immediate and effective way of bringing about this essential change is for we, the people, to use our social and personal networks to become, and support, Congressional candidates who run without corporate money. A core transparency question for all candidates is whether they will vote for an end to corporate funding of campaigns, and public campaign financing. We believe that electing many new members of Congress who refuse corporate donations can help Move to Amend build a Congressional majority to get the buck out of the ballot once and for all.
This movement is driven by cultural change, but we require legislation to truly, permanently, transform our corrupt system.
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