Fwd: Return on investment

[rose and jim sime]

Here is a chance to begin in our efforts toward campaign finance reform and specifically encourage passage of the Disclose Act requiring all campaign ads to disclose where the money is coming from to produce the ad.  We need to keep the pressure on our newly elected officials and on those who remain in Congress too.

Rose

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Bob Edgar, Common Cause" <Caus...@commoncause.org>

Date: November 10, 2010 9:16:14 AM CST

To: "James Sime" <jrs...@chorus.net>

Subject: Return on investment

Reply-To: <Caus...@commoncause.org>

Dear Rose,

So that's what a $4 billion election looks like.

It wasn't pretty. Wall Street, Big Oil and dozens of secretive new political groups formed to capitalize on the Citizens United decision poured hundreds of millions into our elections. And now the question we're left with is: What do they want in return for their investment?

The voters may have been angry at incumbents, but I think it's safe to say that nobody was voting for more special interest influence over our government. So Common Cause is calling on the incoming Congress, particularly the freshman members and the new leadership, to pledge to put the public interest ahead of the powerful interests. 

Speak up for a people-first, not corporation-first, Congress today! 

Please sign our petition demanding that Congress:

• Put voters first. It's time to change the way we pay for campaigns so that they're about Main Street, not Wall Street. Congress needs to pass the DISCLOSE Act and the Fair Elections Now Act.

• Protect the ethics watchdog. Some of our new leaders are quietly plotting to give the boot to the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), the only independent watchdog on Capitol Hill. Tell them to back off! Common Cause fought long and hard for the OCE, which provides the only sunshine and accountability we have when it comes to allegations of misconduct about members of Congress.

• Keep K Street out of the Capitol. With voter confidence in Congress at an historic low, it's time for our elected officials to demonstrate who government is for – the people. Members of Congress should not hire corporate K Street lobbyists to staff their offices and committees. 

Demand that your member of Congress -- whether new or returning -- commit to these three actions in order to protect our democracy from the undue influence of corporate and special interests!

Add your name today, and we'll hand-deliver your message to members of the 112th Congress when they convene in Washington, DC in January.

Outside groups, bankrolled by anonymous and corporate donors, invested more than $500 million in the midterm elections. They will surely be looking for favors, insider access, earmarks (money specifically directed to pet projects) and much more.

We may have had an election dominated by special interest spending, but that doesn't mean we have to stand for a government controlled by them.

Tell Congress not to hire K Street lobbyists to staff their offices; to protect the independent ethics process; and to clean up our elections by passing the DISCLOSE and Fair Elections Now Acts.

Speak up for a people-first, not corporation-first, Congress today! 

Thanks for all you do.

Sincerely,

Bob Edgar
and the rest of the team at Common Cause

P.S. Common Cause is hosting an event this morning called "Post-Election: What Follows the Money" to talk about the 2010 midterms and the reforms needed now. It's airing live on C-SPAN at 10:00am eastern, and you can catch it on the web at http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/id/237449.

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