Research
A Short History of Fix Democracy First's Work on Money in Politics
An overview of our work toward a system in which citizens’ voices in government are not dependent upon their financial resources
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Our government is a union of all United States citizens. Everyone is a member. It is the way we organize to efficiently address problems that affect us all. It is the way we respond to disaster when isolated groups are impacted. And it is the only way ordinary citizens can stand up to powerful entities such as major corporations and bizarrely wealthy individuals that would otherwise treat us unfairly. Over the past 50 years its capacity and inclination to work on behalf of average citizens has been under attack by a well-funded and successful conspiracy to vilify the very idea of government/union and to weaken our government’s ability to function on behalf of ordinary citizens. This effort is well described by Nancy MacLean in her book “Democracy in Chains” and her 45-minute video embedded below and available here. It is worth watching twice. As she points out, the success of this program is dependent on stealth. If it were well known by the public, it would never be accepted. So, one of our jobs as defenders of democracy is to make this program known to the public.
A second important point made by MacLean is that the perpetrators of this takeover have realized that changing the rules under which we practice our democracy will have a much greater effect ultimately than changing the rulers. Therefore, changing the rules of government is where they have focused their attention. Expanding the ability of corporations to participate in electoral campaigns, increasing the role of money in campaigns, implementing onerous ID requirements for voting, requiring super-majorities to enact legislation, and ultimately, re-writing the US Constitution to make government beneficence an utter impossibility, are among the rule changes that will ultimately permanently deprive the general public of any means of opposing utter domination by brutish corporations and unembarrassedly greedy individuals.
Fix Democracy First is ideally positioned to address both strategies. Our public education program is well placed to make this hidden attack on democracy known to the public. Our non-partisan legislative efforts are directed solely at making rule changes that empower government to reflect the interests of rank-and-file citizens and enact policies that benefit the general public, not a well-financed minority. Now, please watch and listen to Nancy MacLean’s presentation and join us in this effort.
An overview of our work toward a system in which citizens’ voices in government are not dependent upon their financial resources
Follows the tenacious Seattle grandmother / investigator, Bev Harris, and her band of extraordinary citizen-activists as they set out to answer one simple question: How does America count its votes?
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Written by Anand Giridharadas, this book helps us understand some of the egregious abuses of power that dominate today’s news.
