MESSAGE FROM OUR FOUNDER…IDEAS OF THE MONTH…FIRST DEBATE DEMOCRACY…MONEY ON MY MIND…QUOTE OF THE MONTH…EXCITING NEWS…FACTS YOU CAN USE…
MESSAGE FROM OUR FOUNDER
Welcome to the 2016 monthly Democracy Matters E-News! With the national focus on the danger to our democracy of big money in politics, students in DM chapters from Massachusetts to California are mobilizing their campuses for change. We are determined to limit the political power of wealth so that every voice can be heard.
Join me by reading our E-News each month. Celebrate our victories, check out our latest happenings, and help us create a government that is truly of, by and for the people.
Follow us now on Twitter @DemocracyMatrz for all the latest updates on DM victories and money in politics news. And don’t forget to like us on our DM Facebook page.
IDEAS OF THE MONTH
Increasing the turnout of student voters is critical this election year! DM chapters are collaborating with other student groups, student governments, and administrators to give every student the opportunity to register to vote. Throughout the fall, DM will be reminding students of the importance of voting with creative tactics like tabling contests, poster campaigns, videos, door-to-door canvassing, debate-watch parties, and more.
On September 16th, Constitution Day, DMers will be sponsoring discussions focused both on the problem of corporate and wealthy donors’ political power, and on the promise of new citizen-owned publicly-financed campaigns.
And DM members will be out in full force at their school’s Student Activity Fairs, signing up others to join them in building an inclusive and fair democracy, where merit – not money – decides elections.
FIRST DEBATE DEMOCRACY
Democracy is the first issue that Presidential candidates should debate! They need to detail their plans to fix our broken democracy.
Our democracy is broken because wealthy people have too much political influence. Their mega-donations to campaigns and Super PACS silence the voices of ordinary Americans and turn our elections into auctions going to the highest bidder.
Nothing can be more important than reducing the power of wealth to ensure a fair and inclusive political process in our country. A broad coalition of national organizations, including Democracy Matters, is demanding that the candidates “First Debate Democracy.” They should be forced to tell us – in the first debate and beyond – exactly how they plan to create a real democracy that works for all of us, not just big donors.
MONEY ON MY MIND
The enormous burden of student debt – now totaling over $1.23 trillion – is tied to the private funding of our political campaigns. Because students and young people make few campaign contributions, support for higher education is politically a low priority. The fact is that government funding has been decreasing for more than 25 years. In this month’s column, Jay Mandle explores the danger to education posed by an unfair system of campaign funding that depends on wealthy donors.
Read the full article and explore other issues of MOMM.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
“We envision a remaking of the current U.S. political system in order to create a real democracy where Black people and all marginalized people can effectively exercise full political power. This includes public financing of elections and the end of money controlling politics through ending super PACs and unchecked corporate donations.”
Platform Demands: The Movement for Black Lives
EXCITING NATIONAL & STATE NEWS
The national groundswell of grassroots support for getting big money out of politics has inspired important legislative initiatives in both Washington and the states.
- US Senator Chuck Schumer launched “We the People,” a set of campaign finance reforms including transparency, overturning Citizens United, and reforming lobbying laws. Also in the Senate, “Fair Elections Now” legislation, providing voluntary public financing for Congressional candidates, has been initiated by US Senator Dick Durbin.
- In the House of Representatives, Representative John Sarbanes’ “Government by the People Act” features a small donor matching system of public financing.
- In New York, a statewide coalition launched the “Demand Democracy” campaign, advocating public campaign financing, ethics reform, and voting rights protection.
- And for the first time, a major party platform included serious campaign finance reform as a top priority. The 2016 Democratic Platform states “We will fight for real campaign finance reform now. Big money is drowning out the voices of everyday Americans, and we must have the necessary tools to fight back and safeguard our electoral and political integrity.” The platform includes amplifying the voices of the American people through a small donor matching public financing system and also supports a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s decisions in Citizens United and Buckley v. Valeo.
Democratic Party Platform
Senate Democrats to Release a Policy Agenda
Durbin Introduces Fair Elections Now Act
The Government by the People Act
Demand Democracy New York
FACTS YOU CAN USE – ELECTION 2016
The Presidency Money Chase
$992 million so far has been raised in direct contributions to Presidential candidates.
$509 million has been raised by SuperPACS supporting Presidential candidates.
TOTAL = $1.5 billion
No Contest for Congress?
Did you know that the majority of the 2016 Congressional races has already been decided? In this Fall’s election, a full 90% of the races for the House of Representatives are considered decided. In some of those races there is only one candidate running for the office, while in others the incumbent has already raised two to three times as much money as their challengers.
Who’s Giving?
With contributions pouring in, the biggest donors to races for Congress and the President – swamping all others – are individuals associated with the “Finance, Insurance and Real Estate” sector ($636.9 million). Also high on the list of big contributors are: the “Miscellaneous Business” sector ($230.6 million); “Lawyers and Lobbyists” ($145.2 million); and “Energy and Natural Resources” ($108.6 million).
For more information go to Open Secrets:
2016 Presidential Race
Spoiler: Most Congressional Contests not Contests at all
Interest Groups
To honor our 2016 activists, we list ten Democracy Matters chapters in each E-News:
Alabama State University…Appalachian State University…Bard College…Colby College…Colgate University…Emerson College…Emory University…George Washington University…Gettysburg College…Guilford College…