Glia
11-03-2011, 09:44 PM
End to "Corporate Personhood" - Two Takes
Boulder, Colorado Occupies the Ballot Box and Calls for
End to "Corporate Personhood"
Ground Breaking Ballot Measure Calls for
Constitutional Amendment
Common Dreams
November 2, 2011
https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/11/02-12
BOULDER, CO
Last night Boulder became the second city in the nation
to pass a ballot measure calling for an amendment to
the US Constitution that would state that corporations
are not people and the legal status of money as free
speech. At midnight, with 93% of the ballots counted,
the measure was handily winning with 74% of voters in
support.
Boulder's campaign is the latest grassroots effort by
Move to Amend, a national coalition working to abolish
corporate personhood. "From Occupy Wall Street to
Boulder, Colorado and every town in between, Americans
are fed up with corporate dominance of our political
system," said Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap, a national
spokesperson for Move to Amend. "Local resolution
campaigns are an opportunity for citizens to speak up
and let it be known that we won't accept the corporate
takeover of our government lying down. We urge
communities across the country to join the Move to
Amend campaign and raise your voices."
Earlier this year voters in Madison and Dane County,
Wisconsin overwhelmingly approved similar measures
calling for an end to corporate personhood and the
legal status of money as speech by 84% and 78%
respectively. Next week voters in Missoula, Montana
will have an opportunity to vote on a similar
initiative in their community. Move to Amend volunteers
in dozens of communities across the country are working
to place similar measures on local ballots next year.
"Today's `corporate personhood' referendum in Boulder,
Colorado is the latest message from the American people
to state and federal legislators on the need for a
Constitutional Amendment," said Congresswoman Donna
Edwards (D-MD). "The Supreme Court's misguided
Citizens' United ruling burst open the floodgates of
corporate spending in our elections, but it also
unleashed a wave of public outcry over the need to put
individuals, not corporations, in control of our
elections. The results from today are just one example
that we must take action to protect our treasured
democracy."
Edwards introduced a bill last month for a
Constitutional amendment that would overturn the
controversial Supreme Court's ruling in the Citizens
United case.
"Working on this campaign was electrifying," said Scott
Silber, a local Move to Amend organizer in Boulder. "We
had such an outpouring of enthusiasm from our
community. Folks were so thrilled to finally have an
opportunity to have their voices heard and resoundingly
call for an end to corporate corruption of our
democracy. From here we're taking the campaign to
Denver, and then on to Washington, DC."
Move to Amend's strategy is to pass community
resolutions across the nation through city councils and
through direct vote by ballot initiative. "Our plan is
build a movement that will drive this issue into
Congress from the grassroots. The American people are
behind us on this and our federal representatives will
see that we mean business. Our very democracy is at
stake," stated Sopoci-Belknap.
For a complete list of all resolutions passed to date
see: https://movetoamend.org/resolutions-map.
###
MovetoAmend.org is a coalition supported by hundreds of
organizations and tens of thousands of individuals
dedicated to ending the illegitimate legal doctrines
that prevent the American people from governing
ourselves. Check out our full list of campaign co-
organizers (steering committee organizations), key
partners and endorsers.
_______________
Senators Introduce Constitutional Amendment to Overturn
Citizens United
By Zaid Jilani
ThinkProgress Report
November 1, 2011
https://thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/11/02/358694/senators-introduce-citizens-united-amendment/
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Majority Whip
Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) leaves a press conference on April
14, 2011. They are among six Democratic senators who
introduced a constitutional amendment that could
effectively overturn the Citizens United case. (Photo:
Philip Scott Andrews / The New York Times)
One of the overarching themes of the 99 Percent
Movement is that our democracy is too corrupted by
corporate special interests. This corruption was
worsened last year by the Supreme Court's Citizens
United decision, which allowed for huge new unregulated
flows [4] of corporate political spending.
Yesterday, six Democratic senators [5] - Tom Udall
(NM), Michael Bennett (CO), Tom Harkin (IA), Dick
Durbin (IL), Chuck Schumer (NY), Sheldon Whitehouse
(RI), and Jeff Merkeley (OR) - introduced a
constitutional amendment that would effectively
overturn the Citizens United case and restore the
ability of Congress to properly regulate the campaign
finance system.
The amendment as filed [6] resolves that both Congress
and individual states shall have the power to regulate
both the amount of contributions made directly to
candidates for elected office and "the amount of
expenditures that may be made by, in support of, or in
opposition to such candidates."
"By limiting the influence of big money in politics,
elections can be more about the voters and their
voices, not big money donors [5] and their deep
pockets," said Harkin of the amendment. "We need to
have a campaign finance structure that limits the
influence of the special interests and restores
confidence in our democracy. This amendment goes to the
heart of that effort."
Passing this amendment or any other amendment to the
Constitution is an arduous process. There are two ways
to propose a constitutional amendment. Either two-
thirds of Congress can agree to an amendment or there
can be a constitutional amendment called by two-thirds
of state legislatures (this path has never been taken).
In order to ratify an amendment, three-quarters of
state legislatures must agree or three-quarters of
states must have individual constitutional conventions
that agree.
Boulder, Colorado Occupies the Ballot Box and Calls for
End to "Corporate Personhood"
Ground Breaking Ballot Measure Calls for
Constitutional Amendment
Common Dreams
November 2, 2011
https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2011/11/02-12
BOULDER, CO
Last night Boulder became the second city in the nation
to pass a ballot measure calling for an amendment to
the US Constitution that would state that corporations
are not people and the legal status of money as free
speech. At midnight, with 93% of the ballots counted,
the measure was handily winning with 74% of voters in
support.
Boulder's campaign is the latest grassroots effort by
Move to Amend, a national coalition working to abolish
corporate personhood. "From Occupy Wall Street to
Boulder, Colorado and every town in between, Americans
are fed up with corporate dominance of our political
system," said Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap, a national
spokesperson for Move to Amend. "Local resolution
campaigns are an opportunity for citizens to speak up
and let it be known that we won't accept the corporate
takeover of our government lying down. We urge
communities across the country to join the Move to
Amend campaign and raise your voices."
Earlier this year voters in Madison and Dane County,
Wisconsin overwhelmingly approved similar measures
calling for an end to corporate personhood and the
legal status of money as speech by 84% and 78%
respectively. Next week voters in Missoula, Montana
will have an opportunity to vote on a similar
initiative in their community. Move to Amend volunteers
in dozens of communities across the country are working
to place similar measures on local ballots next year.
"Today's `corporate personhood' referendum in Boulder,
Colorado is the latest message from the American people
to state and federal legislators on the need for a
Constitutional Amendment," said Congresswoman Donna
Edwards (D-MD). "The Supreme Court's misguided
Citizens' United ruling burst open the floodgates of
corporate spending in our elections, but it also
unleashed a wave of public outcry over the need to put
individuals, not corporations, in control of our
elections. The results from today are just one example
that we must take action to protect our treasured
democracy."
Edwards introduced a bill last month for a
Constitutional amendment that would overturn the
controversial Supreme Court's ruling in the Citizens
United case.
"Working on this campaign was electrifying," said Scott
Silber, a local Move to Amend organizer in Boulder. "We
had such an outpouring of enthusiasm from our
community. Folks were so thrilled to finally have an
opportunity to have their voices heard and resoundingly
call for an end to corporate corruption of our
democracy. From here we're taking the campaign to
Denver, and then on to Washington, DC."
Move to Amend's strategy is to pass community
resolutions across the nation through city councils and
through direct vote by ballot initiative. "Our plan is
build a movement that will drive this issue into
Congress from the grassroots. The American people are
behind us on this and our federal representatives will
see that we mean business. Our very democracy is at
stake," stated Sopoci-Belknap.
For a complete list of all resolutions passed to date
see: https://movetoamend.org/resolutions-map.
###
MovetoAmend.org is a coalition supported by hundreds of
organizations and tens of thousands of individuals
dedicated to ending the illegitimate legal doctrines
that prevent the American people from governing
ourselves. Check out our full list of campaign co-
organizers (steering committee organizations), key
partners and endorsers.
_______________
Senators Introduce Constitutional Amendment to Overturn
Citizens United
By Zaid Jilani
ThinkProgress Report
November 1, 2011
https://thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/11/02/358694/senators-introduce-citizens-united-amendment/
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Majority Whip
Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) leaves a press conference on April
14, 2011. They are among six Democratic senators who
introduced a constitutional amendment that could
effectively overturn the Citizens United case. (Photo:
Philip Scott Andrews / The New York Times)
One of the overarching themes of the 99 Percent
Movement is that our democracy is too corrupted by
corporate special interests. This corruption was
worsened last year by the Supreme Court's Citizens
United decision, which allowed for huge new unregulated
flows [4] of corporate political spending.
Yesterday, six Democratic senators [5] - Tom Udall
(NM), Michael Bennett (CO), Tom Harkin (IA), Dick
Durbin (IL), Chuck Schumer (NY), Sheldon Whitehouse
(RI), and Jeff Merkeley (OR) - introduced a
constitutional amendment that would effectively
overturn the Citizens United case and restore the
ability of Congress to properly regulate the campaign
finance system.
The amendment as filed [6] resolves that both Congress
and individual states shall have the power to regulate
both the amount of contributions made directly to
candidates for elected office and "the amount of
expenditures that may be made by, in support of, or in
opposition to such candidates."
"By limiting the influence of big money in politics,
elections can be more about the voters and their
voices, not big money donors [5] and their deep
pockets," said Harkin of the amendment. "We need to
have a campaign finance structure that limits the
influence of the special interests and restores
confidence in our democracy. This amendment goes to the
heart of that effort."
Passing this amendment or any other amendment to the
Constitution is an arduous process. There are two ways
to propose a constitutional amendment. Either two-
thirds of Congress can agree to an amendment or there
can be a constitutional amendment called by two-thirds
of state legislatures (this path has never been taken).
In order to ratify an amendment, three-quarters of
state legislatures must agree or three-quarters of
states must have individual constitutional conventions
that agree.