Activists Hold Phoenix “Democracy is For All” Rally

Activists from National and Local Organizations Will Urge Senator McCain to Back Constitutional Amendment Curbing Money in Politics – Vote Is Sept. 8
 
PHOENIX - Sept. 2, 2014 - PRLog -- Activists representing nationwide and local organizations, including Public Citizen, MoveOn.org, Political Action, People For the American Way, CREDO Action, Common Cause, Justice and Beyond and Advocates for Environmental Human Rights will deliver 35,000 petitions from Phoenix residents to U.S. Senator John McCain's Phoenix Office on Sept. 4th  asking him to become the 51st cosponsor of a constitutional amendment to curb the flood of money in politics.

Fifty U.S. senators support the Democracy For All constitutional amendment (S.J. Res 19), which would establish that Congress and the states have the power to regulate and limit election spending. However, Senator McCain has yet to add his name to the list. Activists will urge the Arizona senator to become the 51st cosponsor and to support the amendment on September 8 when the Senate considers it.

The amendment is in response to the U.S. Supreme Court rulings in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (FEC) and McCutcheon v. FEC. In Citizens United, the court gave corporations the green light to spend unlimited sums to influence elections. As a result, spending by outside groups – those not affiliated with campaigns – skyrocketed. In McCutcheon, the court struck down the aggregate campaign spending limits, allowing the super-wealthy to contribute millions of dollars directly to candidates, political parties and joint fundraising committees.

Dan O'Neal, PDA Arizona State Leader said, "Senator McCain supports this amendment; now he needs to back up his words with actions by becoming a cosponsor and then voting for it. On Chuck Todd's show the other day Senator McCain actually said  "I believe that history will show that the Citizens United decision by the United States Supreme Court was one of the worst in history saying that corporations are people and money is speech violation of everything that I believe, certainly in the 20th century what we believed as far as financing of elections is concerned . This will reverberate for years. There will be a scandal and the there will be reform, but in the meantime it is really sad.” O'Neal added, " It’s time for Senator McCain to return to his McCain/Feingold roots and support getting money out of politics and putting the people's voice back in."

Dozens of organizations nationwide have collected approximately 3 million signatures calling for Citizens United to be overturned. Sixteen states, approximately 550 cities and towns, and more than 160 former and current members of Congress and President Barack Obama have indicated support for the amendment.

WHEN:          Noon, Thursday September 4th, 2014
WHERE:        Outside 2201 E. Camelback Rd., Phoenix, AZ
WHO:          Speakers from a variety of justice advocacy groups.
VISUALS:      Signs and Boxes containing the petitions

Contact
Dan O'Neal
***@cox.net
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Tags:Democracy for All Amendment, Senator John Mccain, Campaign Finance, Money Is Not Speech, Citizens United v FEC
Industry:Government
Location:Phoenix - Arizona - United States
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Page Updated Last on: Sep 02, 2014
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