Obama’s State of the Union address last night addressed many of the issues on our national agenda. Like many of you, I was disappointed that he didn't refer to his prior support for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United. Disappointed, but not surprised.
"Over the longer term, I think we need to seriously consider mobilizing a constitutional amendment process to overturn Citizens United (assuming the Supreme Court doesn't revisit it). Even if the amendment process falls short, it can shine a spotlight of the super-PAC phenomenon and help apply pressure for change[...]"
Over the next few years, President Obama will be judged on how well he advances his most important policy proposals. To do that, he’ll need bipartisan compromises and delicate bridge building among many competing interest groups. And so we continue our headfirst march into corporatocracy – rule by corporate elites, for corporate elites, but through the appearance of a thriving democracy.
Washington DC is at the moment a cesspool of lobbyists, politicians who will someday become lobbyists, and lobbyists who aspire to become politicians. (Before going back to serve some more as a lobbyist.) The power of this lobbyist elite comes from Supreme Court rulings declaring that money is free speech and that corporations have some of the rights of natural persons.
Obama knows this. More than 80% of Americans support doing something about it. But there’s a difference between passively accepting that some change is needed and taking action to make sure change actually happens. Reforming the way our Republic operates will take more passion and commitment, the kind that politicians can see, hear and feel with great frequency.
By stamping money we can generate that groundswell for real change. It will be bipartisan and reflect the needs of diverse constituencies – most people, after all, are not corporations. There's a year of hard work in front of us, to make sure that next year’s State of the Union speech is different.
[Consider joining the Stampede, a campaign to stamp money out of politics.]
