We're getting ready to launch a huge accountability campaign, going after senators who vote the wrong way. Can you chip in $3 today to get us started?
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Dear MoveOn member,
The Senate just voted to advance a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United. For the first time in history, every single senator will be forced to say—on the record—whether or not they think money is speech.
This is momentous. It's a once-in-a-generation opportunity. It's nothing short of amazing that Mitch McConnell and his fellow Republicans didn't block this entirely—as they've done with nearly every other priority issue of most Americans, like the minimum wage and student debt.
We've built enough grassroots pressure that they couldn't squash this. McConnell is trying to make lemonade out of this—he claims that he welcomes the debate. But 80 percent of American oppose Citizens United. Even 72 percent of Republicans think the Supreme Court got it wrong.1
So now, it's on. The Senate will debate money in politics this week—and a full vote is expected Thursday.
Can you chip in $3 to help us ramp up the public pressure on these senators before they close their debate on this bill on Thursday?
Undoing Citizens United—which requires a 2/3 vote in both Houses of Congress or a constitutional convention convened by the states—won't be easy and won't happen right away. But the Senate just voted 79-18 to begin debate! And the fight to end the stranglehold that big corporations and lobbyists have on our democracy is one we have to win. But we can only do that if we keep the momentum going now, through election day, and beyond.
We've already launched thousands of calls and cut ads in key states. Now we'll escalate our pressure on senators before they vote—and prepare a big ad campaign that goes after senators who vote the wrong way Thursday. And then keep going.
Will you contribute $3 now to escalate the pressure we're aiming at our senators today, tomorrow and every day—for as long as it takes—until we overturn Citizens United?
The real goal—for this election and beyond—is to start kicking out the politicians in both parties who are carrying water for the big banks, the insurance companies, and other lobbies.
In big moments like this one—when MoveOn members come together in big ways—amazing things can happen.
So if you feel it in your bones that this is a special moment like I do, then I hope you'll get involved. Our collective power matters. When 8 million MoveOn members join together to tackle big problems like corruption and money in politics, we're unstoppable.
MoveOn members have overcome long odds before, and won.
In 2006, Washington corruption was at a high-water mark. There was the Jack Abramoff scandal (which led to 21 corruption convictions!), no-bid contracts in the Iraq war, and a Republican House that couldn't even tackle price gouging at the pump after Hurricane Katrina. Depressing stuff.
So what did MoveOn members do? We helped take over the House of Representatives!
MoveOn members made 7 million phone calls, organized 7,500 house parties, and launched 6,000 in-district events. We held politicians accountable for Washington corruption. And in dozens of congressional districts, we won.
But one step forward, two steps back. In 2010, the Citizens United decision was a devastating leap backwards—a punch in the gut. We lost the House to the Tea Party, too.
But MoveOn members didn't give up, not even then. We launched a huge campaign to rein in the power of big corporations in Washington. Tens of thousands of us stepped up to the plate in bigger ways than ever before, volunteering our time and energy and dollars to fight hard against the Tea Party tide.
We grew bigger than we'd ever been before—8 million members. And in 2012, we re-elected Barack Obama. And we began paving a long-term path to end Washington corruption and restore our democracy.
We can only do this together—as a community—because we're independent, we're massive (with 8 million members), and we're in it for the long haul.
We'll start with public accountability for senators who vote to oppose overturning Citizens United on Thursday. Then, we need to keep fighting the destructive influence of money in politics through election season and beyond.
Can you chip in $3 to help do all this, and more?
I won't lie to you: We've still got several more years of campaigning ahead of us. But this is a huge moment.
One big reason to keep fighting this fight right now is that while some really important things have happened during Obama's presidency—like the health care law—it's become pretty clear that the fundamental change we all want will be impossible until we end the stranglehold that big corporations and lobbyists have on our democracy.
But perhaps the best reason to keep fighting is that—after years of struggle—something beautiful has happened in the fight to take on money in politics. We're starting to win.
This vote to begin debate is one giant leap forward from where we were just four years ago, when the Citizens United decision came down, and the House was taken over by the Tea Party.
With your support, I can't wait to see where we are four years from now.
Thanks for all you do.
–Mark, Jo, Manny, Ben O., and the rest of the team
Source:
1. "Broad Bi-Partisan Consensus Supports Reforms to Supreme Court," Democracy Corps, May 7, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=300534&id=101080-10220574-1u0zXfx&t=9
Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.
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