What's New with We the People Massachusetts in December 2022
Details
We the People Massachusetts (WTP-MA) continues to support a U.S. constitutional amendment that overcomes the 2010 Supreme Court decision Citizens United v. FEC, which ushered in a deluge of corporate money in politics.
This amendment would reaffirm that the rights protected by the Constitution of the United States are the rights of individual human beings only (not corporations), and that money spent to influence elections is not protected free speech and may be regulated to ensure equal access to the political process for all Americans.
In 2022, WTP-MA continued our focus on two main efforts: our Letters to the Editor (LTE) project, in order to focus public attention on the problem; and seeking co-sponsorships for the We the People Amendment (HJRes. 48), the bill in the US House of Representatives to propose the amendment needed to establish unequivocally that political spending is not speech, and corporations are not real people.
In 2020-2022, we helped increase the HJRes. 48 co-sponsors to 94 reps nation-wide, including 6 of the 9 members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation. Also, our Communications Team had 31 letters published in news outlets throughout Massachusetts (7 in the Boston Globe!). Going forward, we will seek more co-sponsors in addition to those committed, and expand messaging through increases in the number of LTEs.
We the People Massachusetts is an all-volunteer organization. We have a small budget but we do need funds to keep in touch with our supporters. Please consider a donation to keep us afloat!
Some Good News
As summarized by Rana Foroohar, Financial Times, 11/21/22:
"Many people are rightly saying that 2022 is the year that liberal democracy fought back. [...] the fact that the midterm elections process in the US went off without a hitch, there are many reasons to feel that autocrats and corrupt regimes have recently been dealt some big blows."
Some Bad News
Foroohar continues:
"...The 2020 presidential election was the most expensive in history (with more than $14bn spent) and 2024 will most likely top that (we just saw the most expensive midterms ever)."
Waves of dark money flooded the mid-term elections in amounts larger than ever. Corporate PACs and industry trade groups poured more than $61 million into the leadership PACs and campaigns of election deniers during the 2022 election cycle, a new OpenSecrets analysis found (including: National Association of Realtors, $1,249,500 and Koch Industries, $839,500).
OpenSecrets also notes that the total cost of 2022 state and federal midterm elections is projected to exceed $16.7 billion...with spending at the federal level having already blown past the inflation-adjusted 2018 midterm record of $7.1 billion.
Further:
"Accountable.US released two new analyses based on data from the recently obtained 990 form of Donors Trust, one of the nation's most influential right-wing organizations. The group, nicknamed the "Dark Money ATM of the Right", gave over $20 million to groups spreading climate denialism and over $16 million to groups seeking to reduce or privatize America's public lands, including many groups that have close financial relationships with Big Oil and other extractive industries."
Looking with a Wider Lens
Unchecked political spending poses real threats to democrary, because it:
Mutes the voices of average Americans
Enables foreign influence in elections
Obstructs competitions and innovation
Undermines trust in government
75% of Americans agree that a constitutional solution to pay-to-play politics is needed.
What Dark Money Can Buy
Foroohar concludes:
"Corporations spend billions buying influence, and there are any number of academic studies to show that this pays off (one from 2021 found that a dollar spent on political influence is associated with $20.67 in higher future annual earnings)...Foreign governments do the same. A few days ago the National Intelligence Council released a report showing that the United Arab Emirates used corporate donations, political lobbying, grants to universities, and other types of spending ($164mn since 2016) to influence US foreign policy over several years."
So please join us! We welcome your feedback and participation. You can reach out to us at our website:
https://www.wethepeoplemass.org
or email us at: info@WTPMass.org
Sincerely,
The We the People Massachusetts Communications Team
As summarized in one recent LTE: "According to a Native American proverb, we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. We owe it to future generations to fix our broken democracy by amending our Constitution."
What's New with We the People Massachusetts in December 2022