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Forum Post: Constitutional Amendment to Enact Campaign Finance Reform

Posted 12 years ago on Oct. 21, 2011, 3:59 p.m. EST by Enigma23 (1)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

All,

I am watching and honoring your movement from afar. Though I am avoiding getting too actively involved for fear of retaliation, I would like to offer a suggestion:

It is time you all get serious about enacting real reform. And you can--and SHOULD--do it through Constitutional Amendment.

I am proposing the first of many possible Amendments below. Please change as you see fit to match your goals, and please get the opinion of someone proficient in Constitutional law to finalize wording.

Also, keep in mind that you do NOT need to go through Congress to pass a Constitutional Amendment. If 2/3 of states were to call Constitutional Conventions, and 3/4 of those states were to pass the Amendments via the legislature or by convention, the Amendments would pass. Thus, please pressure the STATES, not the currently corrupt and useless U.S. Congress, to pass such Amendments.

My first suggested Amendment limits the definition of a "person" to EXCLUDE corporations (#1), sets in place campaign finance reform (#3-5), and reaffirms the right to vote for all citizens (#2).

Here is the proposed text:

"1. A person, herein defined by this Amendment, and throughout this Constitution, shall refer solely to any United States citizen, or other non-citizen legally residing in this country, as determined by federal statute. No company, business, or corporate entity, nor any other group of individuals, shall be considered a “person” or a “citizen.” All other legally created groups and entities shall have rights as established by Congress and by the several States, but such rights shall be limited by the restrictions in this Amendment.

  1. No person of legal age shall be denied the right to vote for any reason other than lack of U.S. citizenship, or the failure to register with election officials, and no personal attribute shall restrict a person’s right to register to vote, excepting legal age or conviction of a serious criminal offense, as defined by the several States.
  2. No person of legal age shall be denied the right to contribute money to a political candidate or campaign, up to a limit to be henceforth set at $1,000 per candidate or campaign, or an otherwise limit as set by State or Federal statute. Non-persons as defined by this Amendment are expressly forbidden from contributing to political candidates or campaigns.
  3. All persons considering candidacy for political office shall fully disclose to the proper jurisdiction any moneys collected with the express purpose to consider, establish, and/or manage a political campaign. Such disclosures shall occur regularly, as established and regulated by appropriate State and Federal statutes.
  4. Any political candidate having found to have accepted moneys not expressly allowed by this Amendment shall be found to have engaged in fraud, and shall have such candidacy disallowed."

I believe this proposed amendment will, essentially, repeal Citizens United, and will set forth significant change regarding campaign finance reform.

Again, please edit this text as you see fit.

Best of luck, Enigma23

10 Comments

10 Comments


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[-] 1 points by sudoname (1001) from Berkeley, CA 12 years ago

Not a bad idea. You're not the only one calling for an amendment, but you make a good point, we can get the STATES to do it.

http://ows.superunion.org/results/?q=amendment%20money%20politics%20lobbying

[-] 1 points by e307465 (147) 12 years ago

I'm in total agreement with you Enigma23. However, the same suggestions have been coming out for over a month now and OWS has done nothing whatsoever in regards to starting a change or coming out with a unified message.

[-] 1 points by aphrodite837 (145) 12 years ago

I am interested in working with people who would like to get the money out of politics. Please check out occupywallst.org/forum/get-the-money-out-of-politics and www.themultitude.org.

[-] 1 points by e307465 (147) 12 years ago

Are you advertising to help grow the forum or are you being sincere? While I admire the movement I think it is misguided. Isn't it funny how almost every Senator and Congressman are millionaires?

[-] 1 points by aphrodite837 (145) 12 years ago

I am advertising because I sincerely believe that this change desperately needs to happen. I want to work with people to make this happen. I am tired of complaining and want to work for positive change.

[-] 1 points by whynotus (15) 12 years ago

1.Take citizenship away from corporations.

  1. Eliminate the corporate income tax and in exchange make it illegal for a corporation to contribute to ANY political campaign.
  2. Make all such contributions a felony bribe.
  3. Individuals cannot contribute to a candidate they cannot legally vote for and make all such contributions a felony bribe.
  4. Limit all contributions to $3000.00 IT IS TIME TO TAKE BACK WASHINGTON FROM WALL STREET!
[-] 1 points by Enigma23 (1) 12 years ago

IndyGuy,

Even if the effort failed, wouldn't the media coverage coming from the effort make it worth it? It would raise awareness with the public, and lead to support for reform.

[-] 1 points by IndyGuy (81) 12 years ago

It will NEVER happen.

You will never get most of the states to agree to a constitutional convention. A convention would be co-opted by the radical left and therefore we will NEVER have one.

If you want to amend the constitution, you need to go the congressional route and they will NEVER enshrine campaign finance reform directly into the constitution.

If you want campaign finance reform, you will have to do it legislatively in a way that doesn't violate the constitution. That is extremely problematic.

[-] 1 points by frankchurch1 (839) from Jersey City, NJ 12 years ago

Indiana is a crazy place.

[-] 1 points by gawdoftruth (3698) from Santa Barbara, CA 12 years ago

article 5 convention on the one hand and a new political party on the other.