W e had hoped to be able to recommend MovetoAmend.org to you wholeheartedly as a means for fighting back against a mortal threat to our democracy, the Supreme Court’s execrable Citizens United vs. Federal Elections Commission decision.
Unfortunately, because of MovetoAmend.org’s own tentativeness about fighting this menace, we can only offer it as a potential path toward eventual action.
For those who’ve been away from the country for a couple of weeks, the Supreme Court ruled corporations have the rights of citizens, of persons, including freedom of speech — with which the court equates spending money — overturning already weak limits on corporations’ ability to buy elected officials and election outcomes, ensuring that anything goes.
MovetoAmend.org is gathering supporter contact information at its Web site. Those who sign up do so in support of a “motion,” not of an actual amendment that could, in the fullness of time, revoke the Citizens United decision. Here’s the motion:
We, the People of the United States of America, reject the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United, and move to amend our Constitution to:
* Firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.
* Guarantee the right to vote and to participate, and to have our votes and participation count.
* Protect local communities, their economies, and democracies against illegitimate “preemption” actions by global, national, and state governments.
As you can see, it’s sort of a statement of principles and intentions.
MovetoAmend.org is linked to a fairly long list of progressive groups. Their names are listed on the right sidebar at the Web site.
We went there, read the home page, the About page, the FAQ, thought it over and decided to add our contact information to the 54,000-plus already gathered. We urge you to go take a look and if you’re comfortable with it, sign up as well.
Why the reticence? We’re not accusing anyone of anything, but there’s a chance this is only a bid to build a big list of contacts for future fund-raising. So, whether an active campaign to amend the Constitution to nullify the Citizens United decision by this group ever materializes or not, I expect at some point to be hit up for a contribution by one or more of the affiliated groups.
If you do take a few minutes to look this over, let us know what you think.
See also this related post at SCOTUSblog.
I haven’t checked out your link yet but I will. Your description doesn’t sound very hopeful. You can count on being hit up for donations in the future, plus having your e-mail inbasket littered with even more political e-mails, starting yesterday.
Somehow the word “tentative” seems to sum everything up about Democratic and liberal organizations. They’re all tentative, hesitating, deciding, pondering; while conservative groups have done their homework, act decisively and go straight for the jugular.
I had a good look at the site, I’ll do a bit of research before I sign it. I already get hit on by a few others I have signed up for, Moveon.org, is one that is always wanting to me sign a petition and asking for money. But thanks for the link, it might be the one to get a groundswell going.
Heck, I get so much junk mail from lib orgs, both snail and e-, that my mailman probably thinks I’m a pinko commie bolshevik maoist bent on destroying the country.
That said, a little more email spam doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is that “motion”. It’s hardly a motion, it’s mealy-mouthed and namby-pamby and that’s exactly what the right accuses the left of all the time, and sometimes, they’re actually correct.
How about : 1. Reverse this decision now or face the pitchforks and tarring on the front steps.”
Tom, Holte, Bee, I might be overly pessimistic about this thing. I just didn’t want to mislead anyone about it being fired up and ready to go, to borrow an expression. They could be very sincere and intend to act when and if they get enough response. I just don’t know.
Bee, I like your spirit. The mailman handles so much stuff, I doubt he devotes time to thinking about who gets what.
Thanks to all for looking at the site and commenting.
What’s your take on free speech for robots? I mean, that’s obviously what Dick Cheney is, for example.
If we can have free speech for legal arrangements, why not for Robots? Hell, let’s let jukeboxes and ATM’s have their say. I never heard of an evil robot programmed to lie, so I don’t think Cheney is one.
I’m wondering who will be the first corporation to try to join the military? I might wonder about corporations marrying, but they do already. Are mergers same-sex marriages?
As it’s written above I can’t support their effort. I rather like the idea of amending the Constitution to make clear that a “person” is a single “human being”, but the rest of it is too vague and too dangerous. Guaranteeing the right to vote sounds fine, but what’s it doing here? Then there’s that bit about “illegal preemption actions”.
“Illegal” government actions is usually a code-phrase for secessionists and weirdos when they object to something the government does–like levy taxes.
I also don’t trust the leaning towards “protecting democracy”. This is a code-phrase for those who don’t like “activist judges”, who don’t seem to realize that the judicial process is a vital, constitutional part of our democracy. Naively–and dangerously–they adhere to the mistaken notion that our constitutional form of democracy is most emphatically not equivalent to “majority rule”, and I’d just as soon avoid that tyranny wherever possible.
You live in Eastern Washington? I’ve been over a lot of that end of the state. Lived in the Tri-Cities a few times for short periods but didn’t much like it there.
Raised my kids in Colville, at the time it was a good place to raise kids.
Anyway, always going on about politics here isn’t going to do you a bit of good, run for office if you think you can change things. And good luck with that, ha ha ha ha
Interesting points, Jeff, and most are well taken. However, in the context of the site and the reason they put this “motion” up, I think their reference to protecting democracy is appropriate and not code for anything.
Billy B, welcome. I think I might make a halfway decent legislator if I were ever to be elected. Unfortunately, in our system lawmaking is only half the job. The real grunt work is fund raising. I’m not sure I’d be much good at that, and feel sure it would get old in a hurry.
C’mon SW, fundraising is easy…just kiss the corporations butt like the Repuglickers do…and the Dems.