This April, in Washington, D.C., we will demand that Congress take immediate action to end the corruption of big money in politics and ensure free and fair elections in which every American has an equal voice.
The campaign will begin on April 2nd with a march from the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. where, if Congress has failed to meet our demand, thousands will gather to reclaim the US Capitol in a powerful, peaceful, and massive sit-in that no one can ignore.
Over 1,500 people have already pledged to risk arrest in what will be one of the largest civil disobedience actions in a generation.
Every American deserves an equal voice in government. That is our birthright of freedom, won through generations of struggle. But today our democracy is in crisis. In this post-Citizens United era, American elections are dominated by billionaires and big money interests who can spend unlimited sums of campaign money to protect their special interests at the general expense. Meanwhile, as the super-rich dominate the “money primary” that decides who can run for office, almost half of the states in the union have passed new laws that disenfranchise everyday voters, especially people of color and the poor.
This corruption violates the core principle of American democracy — “one person, one vote” citizen equality. And it is blocking reform on virtually every critical issue facing our country: from addressing historic economic inequality, to tackling climate change and ending mass incarceration. We simply cannot solve the urgent crises that face our nation if we don’t save democracy first.
But if the status quo goes unchallenged, the 2016 election — already set to be the most billionaire-dominated, secret money-drenched, voter suppression-marred contest in modern American history — will likely yield a President and a Congress more bound to the masters of big money than ever before. And our planet and people just can’t afford that. But there is another possibility.
This is the hour to stand tall, to challenge each other to rise to this historic moment in which we did not choose to live, but which we now must choose to face. With love, with courageous hope, with the legacy of those who struggled for freedom before us in our minds — we must act with a determination matching the urgency of this crisis.
Already, many leaders and public figures have pledged to risk arrest and more and more citizens and organizations are signing on to this non-partisan campaign each day. We are ready to take this bold step and will provide the necessary training and legal support to all who will join us.
But to do this successfully, we need to know we can do it at a historic scale. We need to know that enough people who believe as we do and love our country as we do are ready to join us.
Take the pledge: help us make history and save our democracy.
COMMENTS