Get the Money Out of Politics
A broad coalition that includes Occupy Seattle, Move to Amend, Free Speech for People and other organizations is initiating two days of action to kickoff a public awareness campaign focused on amending the Constitution in order to limit the power of corporations to impact elections.
Our aim is to raise awareness of the Citizen’s United vs. FEC ruling, which crippled our government’s ability to regulate American campaign spending by huge, multinational corporations. The decision was based upon the assumption that corporations count as people with all the rights of a natural person, including free speech. It was also based on a previous ruling affirming that monetary expenditures are a form of free speech. Since there is no mention of corporations in our Constitution, and by no means are they granted the full rights of an individual, it is apparent that a corrupt, political court has taken it upon themselves to shape our legal and election system according to special interests.
This legal allowance of unlimited campaign spending by human-made legal fictions doled out by corporate lobbyist’s behind closed doors, with a single-focused legal responsibility to generate profits, poses a critical threat to free and fair elections in the United States. The great wealth of corporations lets them misuse the political system and overpower human beings in the struggle to be heard. This immoral granting of natural rights to unnatural entities is leading to the decline of democracy, communities, the economy, and the natural world.
It is imperative that the American people are made aware of this threat to our democratic system. Furthermore, it is critical that our Constitution is amended to include language that makes it undeniably clear that corporations are not people, and that they do not posses the same rights as natural persons. This would clear the pathway for our Congress to regulate campaign spending.
Join us on Friday, January 20, for a rally at the Federal Courthouse (700 Stewart Street.) as Move To Amend – Occupies the Courts! Bring signs and banners between 10- 4 to show your solidarity with your fellow humans, grassroots organizations and local governments countrywide, entertainment and speakers from 11 to 2.
The action continues from 12-4 on Saturday, January 21 with a rally, entitled: People Ignited Against Citizens United.  We’ll have informative speeches, music, and interpretive activities at Westlake Park (4th & Pine).
At 2pm, we will march from Westlake to Seattle City Hall and continue on to the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building (915 Second Avenue, between Marion & Madison).
                                            Legalize Democracy!
Occupy Olympia information and event calendar: http://occupyolympia.org/events/
Move To Amend Olympia and Tacoma event planning and information: http://www.movetoamendolympia.org/
Updated Seattle Event information: http://open.salon.com/blog/kennspace/2011/10/28/corporate_occupation_of_the_united_states_1
Organizations involved in events January 20th, and 21st, 2012, a partial list: http://www.united4thepeople.org/index.html
–Posted on behalf of Kenn Dzaman