Wendy Block: Today I still hate L.A., but two phenomes of hope float above this desert: Eric Garcetti for mayor and Prop. C. Los Angeles city voters are privileged to vote for both this coming Tuesday.
Campaign Finance
Articles documenting the distortions today's campaign finance system inflicts on the political process
California Democratic Party Disses Fracking, Still Loves Money
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Wendy Block: It’s heartbreakingly clear that the Democrats won’t act courageously. But a number of non-partisan outside groups will. The MOVI coalition and Common Cause are sponsoring Prop C on the Los Angeles ballot next month, to let voters tell electeds to fight Citizens United. They need you.
Sheila Kuehl on Prop 32: Neither Rich Nor Poor Can Sleep Under the Bridges of Paris
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Sheila Kuehl: The measure is crafted to look as though it is limiting the ability of both unions and corporations to make campaign contributions to candidates or measures, but, in truth, it would place a far greater burden on unions
Promoting Middle Class Populism, Downplaying Military Issues
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Tom Hayden: Carville and Greenberg differ from many liberal Democratic advocates, however, in arguing that deficits are a real problem, not ones invented by Republican skinflints and gold bugs.
Rick Perry v. ‘Rick Parry’: Pushing Campaign Finance Frontiers
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Marian Wang: For months, comedian Stephen Colbert has been taking his satire to the field of campaign finance, highlighting how little-known groups can raise and spend unlimited — and sometimes undisclosed — funds on election ads.
Americans Would Doom an American Reconstruction Effort
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David Love: I’m betting on Japan to win this, with their ganbatte spirit, highly educated workforce, long-term strategy and dedication to technological advancement.
Elections Should Be Won Not Bought
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Brad Parker: As President of Valley Democrats United and a board member of the California Clean Money Action Fund, I’m asking you to join our club in considering endorsing an important and exciting campaign finance reform measure on the upcoming March 8th Los Angeles city ballot, Measure H. Measure H is a Fair Elections measure that would rein in pay-to-play politics in Los Angeles. It would prohibit contributions and fundraising by bidders for large city contracts, and punishes violators by banning them from getting city contracts for up to four years.
Carl Levin: McCain Introduced a ‘Non-Relevant’ Amendment, Too
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Andrea Nill: Levin also noted that the Senate has debated amendments to the bill on a number of issues. One of those amendments was introduced by McCain.
Elizabeth Warren You Rock
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Wendy Block: I don’t know if the world would improve if women ran it. Our decision-making and problem-solving brain centers are proportionally larger than men’s. Same with emotions, perhaps a mixed blessing. And anxiety tends to lead women to reach out to others, often at their own expense, whereas men generally get all “fight or flight.”
Reclaiming Our Hope
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Paul Loeb: It’s been a frustrating time since November 2008, but our challenge is to spend less time bemoaning our disappointments and more energy engaging with ordinary citizens the way so many of us did a year and a half ago. If we give people enough ways to act on our present crises, we never know how history might turn.
Hollywood’s Fix for America’s Three and a Half Trillion-Dollar Lobbying Addiction
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Nomiki Konst: The United States of America has a dirty little secret. We’re addicted to a drug. A drug dealt everyday in the halls of Congress, on the streets of Washington, and at the exclusive Georgetown soirees. That drug is corruption, pure and simple. And the dealers are lobbyists. The year 2009 was record breaking for the lobbying industry, mostly due to the health care debate, with total spending on all issues at more than $3.47 billion.
Taking Money Out of Politics: A Grassroots Effort for Clean ElectionsTaking Money Out of Politics: A Grassroots Effort for Clean Elections
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Paul Loeb: Nothing makes us feel more powerless than the corruption of our democracy by money. It undermines progress on every issue we face. If America is ever to deal with our critical problems, we’re going to need to sever the links between wealth and politics, a task made more challenging by the recent Supreme Court decision that overturned a hundred years of precedent to increase still further the influence of companies like Exxon, United Health and Goldman Sachs.
California Fair Elections Kickoff
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Wendy Block: It’s impossible to eliminate money from politics, and there’s no reason to. But release candidates from huge campaign contributors and the special favors that follow victory, and you’ll see miracles after every election.
Friday Feedback: Supreme Court to Block Fair Election Efforts?
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Not only do I expect Chief Justice Roberts to break his promise to the American people and legislate from the bench by overturning McCain-Feingold, but I expect him to work with the other conservatives on the court to overturn any laws that Congress passes in this area.
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