Forum Post: A Constitutional Amendment (or Several) Should be the goal of the Occupy Movement
Posted 13 years ago on Nov. 13, 2011, 8:32 p.m. EST by ryancozzens
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This content is user submitted and not an official statement
My personal thought is that there should be a series of constitutional amendments aimed at taking back our governmnet from the rich and corporations. I would suggest two to start one for campaign finance and one for Lobbying. But i have seen rumblings of an amendment declaring Corporations are not people and money is not free speech I can see the benefit of those also. However I feel that leaves too much gray area. I would like to see the constitution equalize the playing field so that a corporations can create a lobby group, but cannot have any advantages that a less funded lobby group does not.
here are links to two articles discussing amendments:
http://iowaindependent.com/63757/harkin-supports-amending-constitution-to-address-citizens-united
Here is what I have written so far on a Campaign Finance bill (still very much a work in progress):
Under no circumstances may a candidate for any federal office receive private funding.
All campaigning must be done with public funds. These funds will be accumulated by an optional addition to your income tax form allowing a donations of x amount. This amount will be equal to the current working wages for a day ($/hr * 8). (this way in theory any employed American can donate one days pay annually). The total collected amount will be cut in half, with half being divided evenly amongst the primary candidates for any party meeting the requirements to be placed on the income tax option form. The other half will be given to the parties primary winner for the general election.
Any group wishing to create a federally recognized political party can do so by acquiring signatures of registered voters equaling x% (2 maybe?) of all votes cast in the previous election. That party is then responsible for the funds that are brought in and may disperse them as they see fit between the 3 elections for federal office (Senate, House, and President). They must however be evenly distributed amongst the candidates for any particular office, meaning a party cannot choose amongst itself which candidate receives the most money, but they can choose which political office they spend more on.
All advertisements mentioning a candidates name, likeness or trademarked slogan must be accounted for. And any money not used be placed back into the federal budget at the end of each year, upon which time all parties receiving proper support will receive their annual public stipend.
We have a large number of great, well thought out, COMPLICATED ideas that will require a huge amount of "selling" and “explanation" and will garner GREAT OPPOSITION.
We need to be realistic & pick an issue that is simple – and that is popular -
that 83% of Americans already agree on -
that 76% of Republicans already agree on -
that 56% of TP already agree on -
that will bring together the people in OWS with the people outside of OWS.
Everybody wins!
Our only goal should be to pass a constitutional amendment to counter Supreme Court decisions Citizens United (2010) & Buckley v. Valeo (1976), that enable unlimited amounts of anonymous money to flood into our political system.
“Corporations and organizations are not a persons & have no personhood rights”
and
“money is not free speech”.
We don’t have to explain or persuade people to accept our position – we have to persuade them to ACT based on their own position. Pursuing this goal will prove to the world that we, at OWS, are a serious realistic Movement, with serious realistic goals. Achieving this goal will make virtually every other goal – jobs, taxes, infrastructure, Medicare – much easier to achieve –
by disarming our greatest enemy – GREED.
THE SUCCESS STORY OF THE AMENDING PROCESS The Prohibition movement started as a disjointed effort by conservative teetotalers who thought the consumption of alcohol was immoral. They ransacked saloons and garnered press coverage here and there for a few years. Then they began to gain support from the liberals because many considered alcohol partially responsible for spousal and child abuse, among other social ills. This odd alliance, after many years of failing to influence change consistently across jurisdictions, decided to concentrate on one issue nationally—a constitutional amendment. They pressured all politicians on every level to sign a pledge to support the amendment. Any who did not, they defeated easily at the ballot box since they controlled a huge number of liberal, and conservative and independent swing votes in every election. By being a single-issue constituency attacking from all sides of the political spectrum, they very quickly amassed enough votes (2/3) to pass the amendment in Congress. And, within just 17 months, they were successful in getting ¾ of the state legislatures to ratify the constitutional amendment into law. (Others were ratified even faster: Eight —took less than a year. The 26th, granting 18-year-olds the right to vote, took just 99 days.)
If they could tie the left and right into a success -
If Ohio won. If Arizona won. If Maine won. If Mississippi won - WHY CAN'T WE ??????????
I feel that we should stay with this simple text to overturn CU:
”corporations are not people” and “money is not free speech”
for four simple reasons and one – not so simple:
1
83% of Americans have already opposed CU in the ABC/Washington post poll and the above
IS THEIR POSITION ALREADY.
2
We don’t have to work to convince people on the validity of our position.
3
Simple is almost always better.
4
This simple Amendment is REQUIRED to overturn CU.
And all other electoral reform can be passed through the normal legislative process.
5
OWS and these pages are chock full of ( mostly ) excellent ideas to improve our country.
All of them have strong advocates – and some have strong opposition.
None of them has been “pre-approved” by 83% of Americans !
Pursuing this goal – without additional specifics is exactly what Americans want.
What do we want? Look at that almost endless list of demands – goals - aims.
Tax the rich. End the Fed. Jobs for all, Medicare for all. So easy to state! Can you imagine how hard it would be to formulate a “sales pitch” for any of these to convince your Republican friends to vote for any of them?
83% of Americans have ALREADY “voted” against CU. And 76% of the Rs did too.
All we have to do ask Americans is to pressure their representatives – by letters - emails – petitions.
Wanna take your family on vacation?
Convince your 7 year old to go to Mt Rushmore.
Then try to convince her to go to Disneyland.
Prioritizing this goal will introduce us to the world – not as a bunch of hippie radical anarchist socialist commie rabblerousers – but as a responsible, mature movement that is fighting for what America wants.
Ohio won. Arizona won. Maine won. Mississippi won -
I feel that using their tactics, and the tactics of the NRA, the AARP an the TP – who all represent a minority – who have successfully used their voting power to achieve their minority goals - plus the Prohibition Amendment tactics – bringing all sides together - is a straight path for us to success that cannot fail to enable us to create and complete one MAJORITY task.
Well here is a complete amendment.
http://www.nycga.net/groups/political-and-electoral-reform/docs/amendment-28-to-the-constitution-of-the-united-states-of-america
Thomas Jefferson “I hope that we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country.”
“If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their money, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them (around the banks), will deprive the people of their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.”
“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.”
John Adams “Banks have done more injury to the religion, morality, tranquility, prosperity, and even wealth of the nation than they can have done or will ever do good.”
James Madison “History records that the money changers have used every form of abuse, intrigue, deceit, and violent means possible to maintain their control over governments by controlling money and it’s issuance.”
That is certainly the idea I support. But something need to be much more specific than that. Outlining what rights are given to campaign donors and lobby groups as well as how those groups are created.
Groups of individuals have no rights as was the intent of the Founding Fathers. If people want groups of individuals to have rights then that will have to be specified at a later date.
This amendment removes all rights to effect politics from group of people while preserving those rights to individuals.