Puget Sound Liberals Weekly Newsletter #219
Enhancing Freedom, Opportunity and Cooperation in
Through informing and networking Liberals and Liberal Organizations.
Our vision is hundreds of thousands of well-informed
Our Website Our Editor To Unsubscribe Table of
Contents * Featured
Articles Opportunities Petitions Communication to Our Members Commentaries from Our Members Susan Sheary: Who is Rob McKenna Representing?* Linda Jansen: Health Reform Should Go Further* Liberals and Democrats Links to the Beef Jim Hightower: Counteracting the Supreme Court** State and Local Links
to the Beef Tom Cramer: Reichert Votes Against Jobs Suzan DelBene: Reichert Should Vote for Reform Craig Pridemore for 3rd Congressional Seat Richard Curtis for Senate Seat Larry Kalb Comments on Health Care Reform Nation and World Links to the Beef Featured Advocacy Group: Brennan Center for Justice Our Liberal Spirit Our
Political Priorities ·
Fair Clean
Elections and Open Government ·
Fair Taxes and
Competent Spending ·
Investment for
Productivity ·
Quality
Health, Education, Jobs, Income ·
Environmental
Protection and Energy Independence ·
Security and
Equal Rights ·
Justice and
Peace Everywhere ·
International
Cooperation and Leadership Conservatives oppose all of these Let’s
End Our National Nightmare
Let’s
Restore Our American Dream More on Conservative opposition to our
American Dream Washington State’s 5 Major Needs · Federal Funding for Health and Education · Substituting
a Progressive Income Tax · Replacing
Conservative Legislators Quote of the Week Success is a journey, not
a destination." Ben Sweetland
Calendar of Events
March 27th at 6 PM and on following days - MoveOn
Movie Parties, featuring Michael Moore’s movie concerning the failure of
capitalism
Thursday, April 1 at 7:30 at Town Hall downstairs (Seneca and 8th,
Seattle) - Making Democracy Work Forum,
sponsored by the League of Women Voters.
For more.
Friday, April 9 at 6 PM at 338 - 10th Avenue, Kirkland
- Making Democracy Work Fundraiser supporting
the Greater Seattle League of Women
Voters.
Saturday, April 30 - May 2
at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle - Wellstone Action Campaign
Management Fundamentals, including:
· Activist track: For people interested in citizen lobbying,
issue advocacy, and community organizing, this track provides skills in how to
win on issues.
· Campaign track: This track focuses on how to be an effective staff or
volunteer member of a winning progressive campaign.
· Candidate track: This is for people who have made the decision to run
for office.
Varying cost. To
register.
Opportunities
Commentaries
that have addressed major issues
Obtain
a free ‘Corporations Are Not People’ bumper sticker.
Petitions
Tell President
Obama to end the racist penalty disparity between crack and powder cocaine.
Sign the
petition to stop Rob McKenna’s lawsuit against health care reform.
Communication
To Our Members
Educating Liberals
Beginning as Lake Hills
Liberals which focused upon developing the Lake Hills neighborhood of Bellevue
as a place where Liberals thrived and multiplied, our Puget Sound Liberals
emerged to focus upon educating Washington Liberals concerning our values,
history, opponents, struggles, political policies and strategies.
Our Puget Sound Liberals
newsletters have now been distributed by email weekly for 4 1/4th
years. We have offered a large number of
Washington Liberals an opportunity to become more knowledgeable and effective
Liberals, although the number who have seriously taken advantage of this
opportunity may be only a small proportion of these. I believe that enough have taken advantage to
justify my efforts and the small expense of publishing our newsletter.
Commentaries
From Our Members
Susan Sheary: Who is Rob McKenna Representing?
Call the Attorney
General and ask him, "WHO ARE REPRESENTING AND WHOSE MONEY ARE YOU
SPENDING ON THE CASE?"
online message - http://www.atg.wa.gov/ContactUs.aspx
telephone: 1.360.753.6200 complaint line: 1.360.664.2162 fax: 1.360.664.0228
And, remember to thank Goldy,
too!!
-----
Impeach
Rob McKenna by Goldy, 03/22/2010, 1:01 PM
When Washington State
Attorney General Rob McKenna decided to spend our tax dollars joining nine
other Republican AGs in a lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of the
recently passed health care reform legislation, who the hell was he
representing?
·
The 58% of
Washington voters who cast their ballot for Barack Obama and his promise of
health care reform?
·
The 6 of 9
Washington congressional districts who overwhelmingly elected Democrats and
their promise of health care reform?
·
The 57% and 55%
of voters who last reelected Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray
respectively, and their promise of health care reform?
·
The 500,000
Washingtonians who will be added to the state’s health care rolls?
Or, is Rob McKenna merely representing
the interests of AWB and BIAW and other monied, special interests? Washington is a state that supports health
care reform and that benefits from it, yet McKenna is spending our tax dollars
in the hope that an ultra-conservative U.S. Supreme Court will put aside a
century of legal precedent and toss out this historic legislation. So I hope
this puts to rest any notion that he is in someway a “moderate” Republican… a
political animal that simply no longer exists.
Linda Jansen: Health Reform Should Go Further
Published by Seattle Times on 3/23/2010
Regarding the insurance albatross the politicians just
hung around our neck [“Historic health-care overhaul passes,” Seattle Times,
page one, March 22]:
·
An estimated 23,000 unnecessary deaths annually will result from 23
million still uninsured nine years out;
·
Millions of middle-income people will be pressured to buy commercial
policies that cost up to 9.5 percent of income but cover an average of only 70
percent of medical expenses;
·
Insurance firms [which give no care to anyone] will get at least $447
billion in taxpayer money in subsidies;
·
The bill will drain about $40 billion from Medicare payments to
safety-net hospitals;
·
People with employer-based coverage will be locked into their plan’s
limited network of providers;
·
Health-care costs will continue to skyrocket, like they did in
Massachusetts;
·
There are loopholes in the pre-existing conditions regulations;
·
Women’s reproductive rights will be further eroded.
We needed and still need a single-payer, equal-access-for-all
plan. Physicians for A National Health Program and United for Single Payer
locally will continue to work on this until we get it right. Linda Jansen
Liberals
and Democrats
Health Care Reform
On
Sunday evening, the house passed the Senate health care reform bill. Although some had speculated that vulnerable
Democrats whose vote was not needed would be allowed to vote against the bill,
it passed by 219, with three votes more than needed. The house then passed a reconciliation bill,
this time by 220, with four votes more than needed.
Message
delivered by President Obama after the successful reconciliation vote.
Message from President Obama to Dave
Thomas.
Dave,
for the
first time in our nation's history, Congress has passed comprehensive health
care reform. America waited a hundred years and fought for
decades to reach this moment. Tonight, thanks to you, we are finally here.
Consider the staggering scope of what you have just accomplished. Because of you, every American will finally be
guaranteed high quality, affordable health care coverage.
·
Every American
will be covered under the toughest patient protections in history.
·
Arbitrary premium
hikes, insurance cancellations, and discrimination against pre-existing
conditions will now be gone forever.
·
We'll finally
start reducing the cost of care -- creating millions of jobs, preventing
families and businesses from plunging into bankruptcy, and removing over a
trillion dollars of debt from the backs of our children.
·
The victory that
matters most tonight goes beyond the laws and far past the numbers. It is the
peace of mind enjoyed by every American, no longer one injury or illness away
from catastrophe.
·
It is the workers
and entrepreneurs who are now freed to pursue their slice of the American dream
without fear of losing coverage or facing a crippling bill.
·
It is the
immeasurable joy of families in every part of this great nation, living
happier, healthier lives together because they can finally receive the vital
care they need.
This is
what change looks like. My gratitude tonight is profound. I am
thankful for those in past generations whose heroic efforts brought this great
goal within reach for our times. I am thankful for the members of Congress
whose months of effort and brave votes made it possible to take this final
step. But most of all, I am thankful for you.
This day is not the end of this journey. Much hard work remains, and we have a
solemn responsibility to do it right. But we can face that work together with
the confidence of those who have moved mountains. Our journey began three years ago, driven by
a shared belief that fundamental change is indeed still possible. We have
worked hard together every day since to deliver on that belief. We have shared moments of tremendous hope,
and we've faced setbacks and doubt. We have all been forced to ask if our
politics had simply become too polarized and too short-sighted to meet the
pressing challenges of our time. This struggle became a test of whether the American
people could still rally together when the cause was right --
and actually create the change we believe in.
Tonight,
thanks to your mighty efforts, the answer is indisputable: Yes we can. Thank you, President Barack Obama
On
Thursday, the Senate passed the reconciliation bill by a margin of 56 to
43. Because it differed slightly from
the bill passed by the House, the house passed the revised version. President Obama and other Democrats are now
explaining the benefits to the public.
Now
that the reconciliation procedure has been successfully used once, it can be
used again to enact many reforms involving federal revenues, regarding both
health care and other reforms.
Regulating Wall Street
Christopher
Dodd’s regulatory bill faces much opposition from Wall Street and
Republicans. If passed, it will
significantly limit
investment banks ability to speculate with depositor’s money. President Obama indicates support
for Christopher Dodd’s bill. For
more.
Having
no vision of the needed Earn, Conserve
and Invest economy, similar to that which followed World War II, the Obama
Administration is still not adequately regulating Wall Street speculation, thus
opening itself to criticisms that it is favoring Wall Street over Main Street,
and not forcing Republicans to reveal their hypocrisy on this issue. I will present more on this next week.
Fiscal Responsibility
Having
no vision of the needed Earn, Conserve
and Invest economy, similar to that which followed World War II, the Obama
Administration is still not adequately regulating Wall Street speculation, thus
opening itself to criticisms that it is favoring Wall Street over Main Street,
and not forcing Republicans to reveal their hypocrisy on this issue. I will present more on this next week.
Student Loans
Included
in the reconciliation bill was a ban
on bank participation in making student loans. This will save student’s money and slightly
reduce the federal deficit.
Jim Hightower: Counteracting the Supreme Court
When a cabal of five appointed extremists, none of
whom has ever been elected to any office at all or had any direct experience
with the corrupting power of corporate campaign cash, blithely decides it knows
better than America's founders, legislators, and electorate about how to run
elections, that's not conservatism. It's the very definition of swaggering
judicial imperiousness. And it needs to be crushed, pronto.
Everything. This is The Big One, the legalized
coronation of corporate power over our elections, government, economy,
environment, media...over us. The Court has gouged a gaping hole in our
democracy, and we have to repair it. Several remedies are available to us, and
we must try them all. Choose one, choose three, choose what suits you--but do
something.
First: Believe. There is an insidious notion being spread
that it's over, that the deal has gone down and there's nothing we grassroots
people can do. That's not merely a contemptible lie, it's an insult to you and
me, a crude attempt to repress the richly rebellious American spirit that is in
each of us. The only force that ever produces change is us--grassroots people
are the headwaters of all democratic possibilities, so let's put our minds to
the challenge. Here are a few suggested fixes:
AMEND THE CONSTITUTION. Yes, this is a huge, extremely difficult, long-term
solution, but it is the most direct, most populist way to end the legalistic
nonsense that corporations are "persons" with dollar-based
"speech rights." Two big coalitions, made up of both national and
local organizations (from Public Citizen to Mainstreet Moms), have formed to
get this done. FreeSpeechForPeople.org
is focused specifically on overruling the Citizens United decision with
an amendment clearly stating that Congress and states may deny free-speech
spending rights to corporations. MoveToAmend.org,
which is spearheaded by such outside-D.C. groups as Liberty Tree, Reclaim
Democracy, and Program on Corporations, Law and Democracy, is pressing for a
broader amendment stating that money is not speech and that only humans are
"persons" with constitutional rights.
PUBLICLY FINANCE CAMPAIGNS. A national policy of providing public funds to
candidates who reject all private donations made sense even before the Court's
decision, but now it's urgent. Based on the success of "clean
election" laws in such states as Arizona, Maine, New Mexico, and North
Carolina, public funding offers an immediate counter to the antidemocratic
gusher of corporate money the Court has unleashed. More than a dozen national
advocacy groups have recently forged a bipartisan coalition, called FixCongressFirst.org, to promote
a clean-elections policy for congressional campaigns.
IMPEACH. The
five perfidious twerps who did this to us, our Constitution, and our historic
democratic ideals ought not be allowed to use their black robes as political
shields. These guys have arrogantly abused their power and willfully violated
the public trust--and they will do it again and again. Those who so
callously assault our democracy with their blatant servitude to narrow
corporate interests should be called to account, which is the legal remedy
provided to us by the impeachment process. Squeamish Democrats in Washington,
ever attuned to corporate sensibilities, will shy from such direct
confrontation. However, the people of our great country deserve nothing less.
The "reasoning" of the five signatories to this coup was a legal
farce--at the very least, the author of the opinion (Kennedy) or the ringleader
of the coup (Roberts) should be called before the bar of representational
democracy and be made to answer such technical questions as "What the
#@!$% were you thinking?"
INTERIM STEPS.
While pursuing the structural reforms outlined above, some tourniquets can be
applied to limit the bleeding from the wound inflicted on our democratic
elections by Citizens United. First, a majority of all shareholders
should be required to approve every single political expenditure from corporate
funds. After all, the money that would be spent does not belong to the
executives, but to these investors. They are a widely diverse group (retirees,
union members, consumers, environmentalists, et al.) whose political interests
often diverge from those of a CEO, and their money should not be spent without
their specific approval. Other patches include banning foreign-owned
corporations from political spending, requiring corporations to disclose their
funding of ads, and prohibiting electioneering by government contractors and
certain other corporations. The problem with such regulatory approaches is that
corporate lawyers and lobbyists are experts at punching loopholes in them.
Still, we need to try everything.
Street protests? Yes. Letters, phone calls, emails? Of
course--to everyone you can think of. Spread the word? By all means (distribute
this issue of the Lowdown, get your friends and coworkers to discuss it
with you, etc.). Challenge Congress critters? Absolutely--let them know that
this is big for you and that you expect real action by them. Push your local
groups and public officials to get informed and involved? Definitely, for this
is a time when pushy might make a difference.
Mainly, trust yourself and realize that you are not
alone. Reach out to others--this radical power play by the Court offers a rare
teachable moment about the dangerous reach of America's corporate elites. True
conservatives (and even many of the tea-bag mad-as-hellers) can't like this
decision, so don't hesitate to enlist them, too. Finally, connect with national
groups, but don't wait on them to tell you what to do. The best ideas for
action are likely to come from your own grassroots
The groups below are focusing on constitutional
amendments, public financing of elections, and other strong, structural steps.
They have a wealth of information and expertise, many have good grassroots
outreach and several have specific actions you can take. Some will have
contacts with other agitated activists in your area, so you can link up, make
friends, and make change.
·
American
Independent Business Alliance, http://www.amiba.net
·
Brennan Center
for Justice, http://www.brennancenter.org
·
Buzzflash, http://www.buzzflash.com
·
Center for
Corporate Policy, http://www.corporatepolicy.org
·
Center for Media
and Democracy, http://www.prwatch.org
·
Common Cause, http://www.commoncause.org
·
Democracy
Matters, http://www.democracymatters.org
·
Liberty Tree
Foundation, http://www.libertytreefdr.org
·
Media Matters, http://www.mediamatters.org
·
People for the
American Way, http://www.pfaw.org
·
Program on
Corporations, Law and Democracy, http://www.poclad.org
·
Progressive
Democrats of America, http://www.pdamerica.org
·
Public Campaign, http://www.publicampaign.org
·
Public Citizen, http://www.citizen.org
·
Reclaim
Democracy, http://www.reclaimdemocracy.org
·
Sunlight
Foundation, http://www.sunlightfoundation.com
·
U.S. PIRG, http://www.uspirg.org
·
Voter Action, http://www.voteraction.org
·
Watchdog.net, http://www.watchdog.net
·
YouStreet, http://www.youstreet.org
The dissent by Justice John Paul Stevens in the
Citizens United case contains many gems of common sense, legal logic, and
pointed barbs. Read it in
full here.
Here’s the Beef
Will
Republicans suffer from totally opposing health care reform?
Sightline discusses failure of our political system to enable sound public policy.
State and
Local
Both of the following two commentaries were received
before the health care reform vote
Tom Cramer: Reichert Votes Against Jobs
Conservative Republican Dave
Reichert has opposed and voted against any bill passed by the President and
Democrats to create jobs. On March 5, 2010 he arrogantly wrote that he opposed
the latest jobs bill proposed by the President and Democrats. Dave Reichert
does not understand that working families and middle class people are hurting.
They have lost jobs, homes, savings, and retirement funds in the worst
recession in 80 years. His only answer is more tax cuts for his wealthy
constituency, the financial services industry and the corporate PACs which
contributed most of the money to finance his campaigns.
We must do everything
possible to help people recover. Incentives in this bill could help jump start
hiring. He objects to the subsidies paid to small business for jobs. He claims
that there is no work available so why would they hire? If that is the case,
then they would not use the money and the bill would not cost anything. So Dave
Reichert is opposed to trying to promote hiring. In reality, as demand
rebounds, the incentives would create hiring sooner.
The people of the eighth congressional
district do not need Conservative Republican Dave Reichert's lack of
understanding how the people of the eighth district are suffering from the job
losses created by the failed economic policies he supported and continues to
support. He supports these Republican policies that favor big business and Wall
Street over Main Street people. According to him, jobs for Main Street middle
class people can wait.
The people of the eight
congressional district deserve to have someone who understands their need for
jobs now. Please support me and I will
vote for measures that work to increase jobs now and help the people of the
eighth district who need jobs return to work earlier. Tom
Cramer
Suzan DelBene: Dave Reichert Should Vote
for Health Care Reform
Dear Dave, in the 8th Congressional District,
9,000 residents with pre-existing conditions and thousands of working families
stand to suffer if Congressman Reichert votes NO on health insurance reform
again. The vote is expected this weekend and Congressman Reichert needs to
decide if he’ll once again turn his back on working families and vote NO, or if
he’ll finally stand up for his constituents who are waiting on much needed
health insurance reform. Please call Congressman Reichert today and urge him to vote YES on
health insurance reform. You can call his office at (202)
225-7761.
Those with pre-existing conditions aren’t the only
ones who will suffer if Congressman Reichert votes NO. According to an analysis put
out by the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, in the
8th district alone the health insurance bill would:
·
Extend coverage to 20,500 uninsured residents.
·
Allow 45,000 young adults to obtain coverage on their
parents’ insurance plans.
·
Protect 1,000 families from bankruptcy due to unaffordable
health care costs.
·
Improve Medicare for 84,000 beneficiaries, including
closing the donut hole.
·
Guarantee that 9,000 residents with pre-existing conditions can obtain
coverage.
·
Give tax credits and other assistance to up to 120,000
families and 20,000 small businesses to help them afford coverage.
Those numbers are staggering, and with just one
vote Congressman Reichert can have a huge impact on families all across the
district. There are only a few days left before the vote. Please call Congressman
Reichert right now and urge him to vote YES on the health insurance reform bill
and support the thousands in this district and across the country that will be
helped by its passage. Sincerely,
Suzan DelBene
Craig Pridemore for 3rd
Congressional Seat.
Although
Brian Baird voted for health care reform on the second vote after earlier
voting against it, we need a 3rd Congressional District congress
member who consistently supports health care and other reforms. Craig Pridemore who is running for this seat
is such a consistent
Liberal. Learn about
his positions upon major current issues.
Richard Curtis for Senate Seat
Richard Curtis is running to support
health care and other reforms, including regulating Wall
Street speculators and unlike Patty Murray, doing so with fiscal
responsibility. The following is
excerpted from one of his commentaries:
“Our political culture is broken having been mangled and abused by
decades of official indifference. What is most insulting is not just that
this indifference is indifference to suffering, which it is, no this
indifference appears to this man of letters as an indifference to reason.
Democracy is about a conversation, a reasoned conversation in which all the
people decide complicated issues. We do not have a democracy in this
country, though we like to pretend we do. We do not have a democracy
because we do not have conversations. The Republicans and Democrats are
not competent to converse because they do not base their policies in reason,
let alone sound science. They are not competent to govern because they do
not know what it means to govern democratically. The people must decide
the weighty issues of the day and sometimes they decide differently than any
particular might like, but that is democracy.
There is hope though, not the empty hope of lies about
change. The hope is the American people. As in 1964, the American
people in 2010 are expressing their frustration and outrage. They, we,
have had enough of the two-party, business as usual theatrics that pass for an
exercise in democracy. We deserve better, we deserve politicians who are
honest enough to recognize when they are in the minority and have the integrity
to live with that. We deserve a political culture based on democratic
participation and democratic decision making, not spin doctors, talking points,
and horse-races that masquerade as elections.
We were promised a democracy and we want it, now! The
possibility of real change exists here and now in way it has not before.
The people of Washington State have decided to conduct a new experiment in
primary elections. To that end we passed a Top-Two Primary system.
This was challenged and eventually upheld by the Supreme Court and this year we
will try it out for the very first time in a U.S. Senate election.
It will not work quite as voters and proponents
expected though. The two corporate parties have moved their conventions
to June and will “endorse” their candidates then. Of the dozen or so
names floating around this race, only two of us are not trying to get the
Republican endorsement, the incumbent and me. One of those Republicans
could decide to run without party endorsement but that is political suicide so
it seems unlikely. This primary will probably be a three person race for
the top-two slots. This is radically different from how elections have
worked in the past. It is possible for an Independent to win in this
system. Before this change that would be a practical impossibility, but
now there is no spoiler issue. The voters of Washington can vote their
values, as we all should in a democracy, and the top two will go on to the
general election. I intend to be among the top two and believe that in a
head to head race with the incumbent that I will easily best any Democrat –
because the people have had enough of politics as usual.
Larry Kalb Comments on Health Care Reform
Larry Kalb is a
candidate for 2nd congressional district congress member to replace
Rick Larsen, who has placed a higher priority upon his political career than
upon fiscal responsibility. The
following is Larry Kalb’s March 23rd press release:
Kalb: Health Insurance Reform
Bill a "Mixed Bag" A VICTORY FOR THE
MOST NEEDY BUT ALSO A
VICTORY FOR "POLITICS AS USUAL"
BELLINGHAM--Larry
Kalb, Democratic candidate to replace Rick Larsen in Washington's Second
Congressional District, declared today that the Health Insurance Reform
legislation passed Sunday was a "mixed bag." Kalb understands why it
passed because it "helps a lot of people," but he claims that it also
shows Congress is still "in the pocket of special interests."
"I'm delighted to see that children can no longer be denied coverage and
that insurance plans will no longer carry arbitrary annual and lifetime
spending limits," said Kalb. "There are many good things about this
legislation, but it falls far short of reforming a broken system. This is a
victory for health insurance companies and their lobbyists. It perpetuates Wall
Street Medicine by forcing 32 million more Americans to buy into overpriced
insurance plans. The insurance companies win. They don't care whether the
premiums are partly subsidized by the government. They just gained 32 million
new customers. Unfortunately, this is a massive taxpayer giveaway to the very
industry that has caused the healthcare cost calamity."
Kalb stated that the bill does very little to bring healthcare costs into line.
"Affordability is a huge issue for most Americans as well as many
businesses, and many will have no choice but to pay the penalty which is lower
than the premium." Nor does it greatly advance the cause of "equal
access, equal care," a cause Kalb has been championing for years.
"This
reform at the very least needs competition from a low overhead, non-profit
public plan. That's what the people want. Bills running thousands of pages will
always do the bidding of special interests. Rep. Alan Grayson's refreshingly
simple 4-page bill will allow any American to buy into Medicare at actual cost.
It will fit in perfectly with the insurance exchanges and could actually be
implemented soon, without the huge delay entailed in the current legislation.
Why is Rick Larsen not among the co-sponsors of this bill?"
"Medicare
For All is really the bare minimum we need," said Kalb. “Every poll ever
taken shows more Americans support a Medicare-For-All system than oppose it.
And 80% of Democrats support it. When I am in Congress, I will fight for
quality Healthcare For All. Every voter in my district, in fact every American,
should have the same quality health care coverage as the members of Congress
already enjoy.”
Here’s the Beef
Democrats challenge
Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna’s lawsuit against health care reform.
Nation
and World
Featured Advocacy Group
------------------------------- Brennan Center for
Justice ---------------------------
Brennan
Center for Justice is a non-partisan public policy
and law institute that focuses on fundamental issues of democracy and justice. Its
work ranges from voting rights to redistricting reform, from access to the courts
to presidential power in the fight against terrorism. A singular
institution—part think tank, part public interest law firm, part advocacy
group—the Brennan Center combines scholarship, legislative and legal advocacy,
and communications to win meaningful, measurable change in the public sector.
Its Democracy Program seeks to
change the ways in which citizens participate in their government by fixing the
systems that discourage voting, hinder competition and promote the interests of
the few over the rights of the many.
The challenge is great. Built-in obstacles bedevil our democracy. A
patchwork of federal, state, and local laws govern campaigns and elections,
creating a labyrinth of administrative barriers to voting. And money spent to
elect candidates increases with each election cycle. District boundaries, drawn
by incumbents who often elevate their personal and partisan power over the
interests of their diverse constituents stifles the possibility of meaningful
competition between can dates.
Its program collaborates with grassroots groups, advocacy organizations
and reform-minded government officials to eliminate these obstacles. We strive
to ensure that public policy and institutions reflect the diverse voices and
interests that make for a rich, energetic democracy. The Center will advance
these goals using tools of research, policy analysis and publications, media
outreach and public education, legislative counseling and advocacy and legal
action.
Four goals animate its work
towards comprehensive reform:
· A voting system in which every vote counts, all citizens are registered,
eligibility rules are expansive and turnout increases dramatically. Our voting
reform work aims towards universal voter registration.
· An electoral redistricting system that protects civil rights, promotes
partisan balance, and preserves real communities.
· A campaign finance system that reduces the role of big money in
elections by providing voluntary public financing at the national, state and
local levels.
· Fair, impartial courts that protect equal justice, individual rights and
the checks and balances essential to the rule of law and promotion of standards
to hold judges accountable for unbiased, reasoned and transparent
decision-making.
A new policy proposal released today by the Brennan Center
for Justice urges Congress to change U.S. securities laws in order to protect
shareholders in the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. FEC.
The decision overturns legal doctrine dating back a century that banned
corporate managers from directly spending shareholder funds in elections.
Corporate law is ill-prepared for this new age of corporate political spending
by publicly-traded companies. Today, corporate managers need not disclose to
their investors - individuals, mutual funds, or institutional investors, such
as government or union pension funds - how funds are being spent, either before
or after the fact. Modeled on existing British law, the Brennan Center plan
outlines a way to change the law so that managers at publicly traded companies must
get shareholder approval on corporate political expenditures. This proposed
change would help by giving shareholders a more robust voice in elections.
Disclosure rules will also provide greater transparency and make it tough for
corporations to make stealth moves to influence election outcomes." said
Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, author of the new report, Corporate Campaign Spending:
Giving Shareholders a Voice.
According to news reports, the President and Congressional leaders are
examining the idea. Both the House and the Senate are set to hold hearings next
week on an array of legislative responses-with shareholders' rights key among
them. The report suggests two specific
reforms to corporate law to adapt to this new legal landscape:
1.
That shareholders be given full periodic reports of past
corporate political spending
2.
That shareholders be given the opportunity to vote on
future corporate political expenditures.
In the U.K., companies disclose past political expenditures directly to
shareholders. Investors also authorize the use of shareholder funds in
political spending beforehand. The report urges Congress to adopt changes to
the U.S. securities laws to mirror the British law. That way, shareholders have
notice of, and the ability to consent to corporate political expenditures.
The Brennan Center is also endorsing other reforms to address the fallout from Citizens
United. It will be supporting current proposals and developing additional
ideas for public funding systems that build on grassroots participation with matching
funds. It will also be examining creative ways to broaden First Amendment
jurisprudence after Citizens United. In addition, the Center continues
its work to modernize the voter registration system - to counter the flood of
new money in politics post-Citizens United with millions of new
voters.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here’s the Beef
Immigration reform should
and may happen this year, but it will be difficult to achieve. For
more.
Proposed
sanctions would punish China for currency manipulation which costs American
jobs.
Our
Liberal Spirit
After Success, What?
Democrats have successfully
passed health care reform, albeit less reform than is needed. We can learn from this success to produce
more successes which expand our freedoms and opportunities. We can use reconciliation procedure to make
further health care and other reforms.
What we should not do is rest
on our success, any more than football players can rest after completing a
winning play. We must continually access
our situation, its vulnerabilities and opportunities, and decide what successes
are needed and possible. We should then
attempt them.
Recommended Books – See our list of books for liberals
Richard A. Posner, 2010, The Crisis of Capitalist Democracy
Unlike the five most recently
recommended books by Liberals concerning the need for regulating Wall Street
speculation, this book is written by a Conservative. Richard Posner believes that speculation adds
to the American economy and should be preserved. In addition, he argues that regulation will
always be untimely, insensitive to actual abuses and easily outwitted by
speculators. He only recommends
regulation light, which attempts to dampen bubbles and their collapse. Such regulation won’t work.
Regulation light is
ambiguous. Is it or isn’t it
regulation? Due to many nuances, This
book is very difficult to read. I don’t
recommend reading this book.