Save Democracy Amendment

Save Democracy Amendment

Senator Bernie Sanders: I wanted to mention to you that I have recently introduced a constitutional amendment, the Saving American Democracy Act, to undo the damage being caused by the disastrous 5-4 Citizens United Supreme Court decision.

In my view, this Supreme Court decision is one of the worst in the history of our country. Together, we have got to do everything we can to repeal it.  A  good place to start would be signing the attached petition and becoming a citizen co-sponsor of this resolution.

Let me be very clear.  Despite what 5 members of the U.S. Supreme Court may believe, a corporation is not a person.  A corporation does not have First Amendment rights to spend as much money as it wants, without disclosure, on a political campaign.  Corporations should not be able to go into their treasuries and withdraw unlimited sums of money in order to buy elections.  That’s not what American democracy is supposed to be about.
This horrendous Supreme Court ruling has radically changed the nature of our democracy.  It has further tilted the balance of power in our country towards the rich and the powerful and against the needs of the middle class and working families.

Today, when corporations have more than $2 trillion in cash in their bank accounts and are making record-breaking profits, the American people are outraged when the Supreme Court says that these corporations have a constitutionally-protected right to spend shareholders’ money to dominate an election.  If we do not reverse this decision, there will be no end to the impact that corporate interests can have on our campaigns and our democracy.

According to an October 10, 2011, article in Politico, “the billionaire industrialist brothers David and Charles Koch plan to steer more than $200 million – potentially much more – to conservative groups ahead of Election Day 2012.”  Others are doing the same thing.

Does anybody really believe that that is what American democracy is supposed to be about?

Click here to become a citizen co-sponsor of the Saving American Democracy Amendment!

Think about the consequences of the Citizens United decision in Congress.  When legislation comes up that negatively impacts Wall Street or some other powerful special interest, what will senators be thinking about when they decide how to vote?  Every member of the Senate, every member of the House, in the back of their minds will be wondering if the vote they cast will unleash a tsunami of corporate TV and radio ads against them.  Is that how we should be deciding legislation?


Click here to see Bernie discuss his Saving American Democracy Amendment with Rev. Al Sharpton, then sign on as a citizen co-sponsor!