A HOLIDAY MESSAGE…DM NATIONAL STUDENT SUMMIT…CAMPUS HIGHLIGHT…MONEY ON MY MIND…SPEAKERS BUREAU…NY FAIR ELECTIONS…FACTS YOU CAN USE…

A HOLIDAY MESSAGE FROM OUR FOUNDER
HAPPY HOLIDAYS from Democracy Matters to all our great students, alumns, and supporters throughout the country! I am personally making a list and checking it much more than twice — because we have such vital work to do in freeing our democracy from the grip of political money.

Fighting for publicly funded elections is simply the most important political change we can make. Only when politicians listen to the people rather than to their big funders will we finally see policies that benefit the 99%, not just the 1%. Our fight to change who runs, who wins, and to whom they are accountable will make other changes — all those things we care so much about — possible. So join me in making a resolution to together fight even harder in 2013 for the just, fair, and inclusive democracy we’ve been promised.

Peace and joy to all in this Holiday Season,

About our Founder and President.

2013 DM NATIONAL STUDENT SUMMIT
The 12th GREAT Democracy Matters Summit is coming soon! The Summit will be held in Albany, NY from Friday, February 1st to Sunday, February 3rd. Join us to meet experts in the field, to network with other organizers, DM alumns, and staff, and to attend hands-on workshops on campus organizing, money in politics, using the media, holding great events, and much more.
Read about the 2013 Summit.

CAMPUS HIGHLIGHT: VASSAR COLLEGE
Adam Eichen and the Vassar College chapter of Democracy Matters have had an fabulous semester. Vassar has had an active DM chapter since 2002 (congratulations on a 10 year anniversary!!), but Adam only took over as lead organizer in mid-September. Since then Vassar DM has created coalitions with many other campus groups, participated in voter registration and GOTV (get out the vote) campaigns, and made sure that students’ right to vote was protected on November 6th.

In addition, DMers organized a successful screening of the money and politics documentary, “Pricele$$,” and put on a major post-election teach-in. Both events graphically demonstrated the catastrophe that the flood of big money in politics is creating in our political system and society.

But importantly, the message of Vassar DMers has also been about fixing the problem of money in politics. Stressing the difference that students can make with postcards, letters, petitions and calls and visits to state politicians, they have involved the campus in advocating for NY public campaign financing. Vassar DM is an important part of the groundswell of New York grassroots support for Fair Elections.
More Action Campaigns.

MONEY ON MY MIND
In the light of the November elections, Jay Mandle explores the damage to democracy by both the outside money of SuperPacs and the billions in direct contributions to candidates’ campaigns. He then assesses the impacts of two proposed reforms — a Constitutional amendment, and the passage of public campaign financing (Fair Elections).
Read the full article and explore other issues of MOMM.

DM SPEAKERS BUREAU
Democracy Matters Speaker’s Bureau presents talks and lectures on campuses and in communities. If you would like to invite a member of Democracy Matters Speaker’s Bureau to speak at your college or organizational event in 2013, contact joanm@democracymatters.org right away. Topics range from “Election 2012: Money and Politics,” “Who Owns Democracy,” “Gender, Class, and Race: Building an Inclusive Democracy,” to “Student Activism Can Change the World,” “The Corporate Takeover of Democracy,” and more.

Staff, alumns, Board members and students all participate in the Speakers Bureau. DM campus presentations this Fall included Iona College, Wayne State University, SUNY/Geneseo, Kalamazoo College, Monroe Community College, Wesleyan University, St. Michael’s College, Vassar College, and more. Democracy Matters speakers also participated in community-based forums on money in politics organized by the League of Women Voters, Public Campaign, Citizen Action, and Public Citizen.
Read more about our Speakers Bureau.

UPDATE ON NEW YORK FAIR ELECTIONS
Congratulations to all the DM NY chapters that held exciting events during the “Fair Elections Days of Action,” November 14th and 15th, including teach-ins, movie screenings, phone calls to state representatives, improv “Take Back Democracy in Albany” skits, and signatures collected on petitions and postcards in support of public financing in New York!

Also last month Democracy Matters Executive Director, Joan Mandle, joined national leaders including the NAACP, Demos, Common Cause, and the National Education Association in advocating for NY Fair Elections. As one signer, Michael Brune of the Sierra Club, stated, “American families deserve clean air, clean water, and clean energy – but with so much big political money standing in the way, we need to clean up our election system first.”
Click here to read the letter to Governor Cuomo from national leaders.

FACTS YOU CAN USE
Though we have heard many horrifying analyses of the dominant role of money in last month’s election, here are just 5 important facts you may have missed.

-Over $6 Billion was spent on this election – more than any previous.
-In Congress, the average spent by winners of the House of Representatives was $1.5 million each; the average spent by U.S. Senate winners was $9.6 million each.
-Only 0.37% of the population gave more than $200 to any candidate; that accounted for 2/3 of all contributions.
-94% of House candidates who spent the most money won; 81% of Senate candidates who spent the most money won.
-Senate incumbents outspent challengers by more than 10 to 1; House incumbents outspent their challengers by more than 6 to 1.

WE NEED TO GET BIG MONEY OUT OF ELECTIONS AND TAKE BACK OUR DEMOCRACY!

These and other data on the election can be found at www.opensecrets.org.