CAMPUS HIGHLIGHT…DEMOCRACY SPRING/AWAKENING…ENVIRONMENT INTERNSHIP…QUOTE OF THE MONTH…$1,000,000…MONEY ON MY MIND…FACTS YOU CAN USE…
CAMPUS HIGHLIGHT – EMERSON COLLEGE
DM chapters everywhere celebrated Earth Day April 22nd. But Emerson College DMers took it one step further, hosting an exciting premier for their great new video, “Money in Politics & the Environment.” It dramatically highlights the connections between big campaign donors and environmental degradation. (Also see “Facts You Can Use” below).
Led by Cabot Petoia, Emerson DM also registered new voters, helped get out the vote for the Massachusetts primary, and produced a second great video, “Student Loans: A Story of Corruption.” Go Emerson!
Video: Big Money in Politics & the Environment
Video: Student Loans: A Story of Corruption
DEMOCRACY SPRING/DEMOCRACY AWAKENING
When the fight for money out of politics and voting rights took to the streets, Democracy Matters was well represented. A hearty band made the trip to DC from DM chapters in North Carolina, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York and Pennsylvania.
At teach-in workshops, DMers Kiernan Colby and James Rider spoke about student debt and the cost of college. The following day saw an exciting 5,000 person rally, cultural events and inspiring speakers! The demonstration culminated with an hour-long march around the Capitol, chanting “Money Out! People In”; “This is What Democracy looks Like.”
DM staff and Board members were also there in force. Three DMers from Guilford College, Joan and Anita were arrested as they participated in the non-violent sit-in. Max drove a van of DM students from Boston, and Joan and Anita joined the march from Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell to Washington. This is what a movement looks like!
ENVIRONMENT INTERNSHIP AVAILABLE
The Center for Earth Ethics of the Union Theological Seminary is offering paid internships for students doing environmental organizing on campus for 2016-17. Interns will be trained in the model of Democracy Matters and will work closely with our interns to educate and mobilize their own campuses.
Apply today at http://www.centerforearthethics.org
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
“We will not be the generation that gives up on democracy!”
Miles Rapoport, Common Cause President, addressing the April 17th Democracy Awakening rally.
DID YOU SAY TEN FIGURES???
That’s right! With primaries still in progress, over $1,000,000 has already been spent on the 2016 election, according to the Center for Public Integrity. Clearly this election will break all spending records.
The top-spending Republican is Ted Cruz at $70 Million, while Sanders and Clinton have each spent about $163 Million. Cruz has few small donors, but 2/3 of Sanders’ contributors and 20% of Clinton’s have given less than $200.
The fact that our elections are awash in big private money only reinforces the urgent need for real change that both Sanders and Clinton have called for, including publicly funded Congressional campaigns.”
MONEY ON MY MIND
This month, Jay Mandle highlights the sea change occurring around the issue of money in politics. Both the success of Bernie Sanders’ campaign and the exciting DC Democracy Spring & Democracy Awakening demonstrations show that the moment for a massive Money Out of Politics movement may be here.
Read the full article and explore other issues of MOMM.
FACTS YOU CAN USE – Dirty Money: Polluters Out, People In
Ever wonder why the fossil fuel industry “invests” in politicians? Because it pays! Government subsidies are in the Billions!
What They Get: In 2013 and 2014, subsidies to fossil fuel production totaled $20.9 Billion each year, according to a report from Oil Change International. In addition, in 2013 alone exploration subsidies totaled $6.7 Billion.
What They Pay: Since 2005, over $173 Million in dirty energy money has been donated to Congress. The biggest polluting givers are Koch Industries ($5.9 M), Duke Energy ($4.1. M), and ExxonMobil ($5.4 M). In addition, Presidential campaigns have taken in another $31.8 Million from the fossil fuel industry since 2005.
For more details go to http://priceofoil.org
To honor our 2015 activists, we list ten Democracy Matters chapters in each E-News:
DUKE UNIVERSITY…EMERSON COLLEGE…EMORY COLLEGE…GETTYSBURG COLLEGE…GUILFORD COLLEGE…HARVARD UNIVERSITY…IONA COLLEGE…KEENE STATE COLLEGE…MARYGROVE COLLEGE…NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY…