In response to the Supreme Court’s freakish decision in 2010 to bestow political “personhood” on corporations, I got an email from a guy named Larry, screaming that “big money has plucked our eagle.”
Yes it has — and the Powers That Be tell us that we shouldn’t even try to undo this theft of our people’s democratic authority, but should just try regulating corporate money, like maybe requiring them to disclose how much
they’re spending on campaigns. Now there’s a bold stand for democracy: “Give us campaign finance reporting regulations or give us death!” Come on, we’re bigger than that. Here are just a few actions for real change that you can take, teaming up with others right where you live:
AMEND. Two major coalitions are organizing to overturn the court’s corporate money edict by amending the Constitution. One is FreeSpeechForPeople.org and the other is MoveToAmend.org — and both have action kits for raising the issue locally, petitions to be circulated, video and other good graphics to educate people in your community, and a wealth of other organizing ideas.
LOCALIZE. Pass your own local and state laws to stop the wholesale corporate purchase of our government. These include outlawing any corporate claim of personhood in your area, providing the alternative of public financing for your local and state elections, and banning campaign donations by corporations that try to get government contracts and subsidies. For information and help, check our PublicCampaign.org and ReclaimDemocracy.org.
CONFRONT. Yes, get in the face of power. Ask all candidates where they stand on corporate personhood and demand that top executives of big corporations located in your area publicly agree not to spend corporate cash on your elections.
Remember, the Constitution plainly says “We the People,” not “We the Corporations.”
JimHightower.com
For more information on Jim Hightower’s work — and to subscribe to his award-winning monthly newsletter, The Hightower Lowdown — visit www.jimhightower.com.
