The bipartisan letter sent to Democrats Sens. Tom Carper, Chris Coons and Rep. John Carney read in part, “There is no more critical foundation to our government than citizens’ confidence in fair and free elections. The Citizens United decision directly undermines this confidence, and was issued in the absence of any evidence or searching inquiry to refute the fair assumption that unbridled and opaque spending in politics harms American democracy. … The United States of America’s elections should not be permitted to go to the highest bidder, and yet this is the risk that rises from the ashes of the Citizens United decision.”
Delaware joined Maine, West Virginia and Illinois to become the fourth state in the last two months to reject Citizens United. Connecticut, Maryland, Colorado, Montana, California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Vermont have also rejected Citizens United.
The movement to overturn Citizens United has been championed at the federal level by Sen. Bernie Sanders, but real change has to start in the states. After a majority of states reject Citizens United, the pressure will be on the federal government to act.
It took one Supreme Court decision to open the doors to the theft of our representation through dark money, but it will take years to reverse the damage that is being done. This is why it is important for citizens in every state to demand that their legislature reject Citizens United. Sign the petition supporting Sen. Sanders’ Saving American Democracy Amendment. Most of all, people need to make their voices heard. The only way that our government will ever return to listening to the will of the people is if we get the special interest money out of their ears.
Red states are joining with blue states, because this isn’t about partisan politics. It’s about creating a government that works for the people, not the highest special interest dollar.
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