How Democrats Can Get Ahead of the Populist Storm

[flpoljunkie]

Conclusion from...

Lawrence Lessig
Professor of Law, Harvard Law School, Co-founder of Change Congress

The Democrats' Dirty Money Problem

Now, of course, the Republicans are doing their best today to help the Democrats avoid this tarring. The obtuse effort to block re-regulation of Wall Street will backfire. If the GOP doesn't find a way to out-populist the Democrats, it will be the Democrats who have the chance to claim that they at least learned something from this mess, and are willing to do something about it.

But if the Democrats really want to get ahead of this populist storm, they need to demonstrate that they learned something real. They need to leverage this crisis into real and substantial reform. Not puny reforms likely simply to inspire more slap-downs by the Supreme Court, or yawns from the rest of America. But reform that no American could believe is just more game playing. Faith in Congress is at an historic low. Faith in government is at an historic low as well. If the Democrats care at all about the institution they now control, and institution whose public trust is crumbling about them, then they will finally take the first step in a 12 step program to reform Congress. They will admit Congress's addiction to campaign cash, and the harm it produces, to policy as well as public trust. And they will embrace fundamental reform.

There is such reform in a bill in Congress right now -- The Fair Elections Now Act, with almost 150 cosponsors in the House, and 17 in the Senate. That bill would produce campaigns with small dollar contributions only. The most anyone could give a candidate is $100. That $100 gets matched 4 to 1 by the government. Small dollars become big enough dollars -- big enough to wage an effective campaign, yet small enough to make it impossible for anyone to believe that money is buying results in Congress. Gibney's film -- released by the ever-activist Participant Media -- has a set of online tools to help push for the Fair Elections Now Act. An organization I helped found has tools as well at FixCongressFirst.org.

This bill is an opportunity for the Democrats. They need to seize it (as an amendment to the Van Hollen Citizens United Fix?). They need to recognize that it is (1) impossible to look at the insanity of mis-regulation in the financial services sector without believing that money bought these mistakes, and (2) impossible to ignore the Democrats in that mix of mis-regulation. Perhaps the money didn't corrupt directly. Perhaps not as Abramoff-scummily. And perhaps with a dominant ideology that made the mistakes seem sensible.

Regardless, America will recognize that it can't trust Congress behind the wheel of critical national policy, so long as it remains under the influence of large campaign cash. It will see that moderation is not a remedy for the addict. Only real and substantial reform is. And it will look for the party -- Republican, Democratic, Tea, Coffee or Cold Turkey Party -- that will provide it.

http://fixcongressfirst.org/DirtyMoney

To sign petition: https://secure3.convio.net/change/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=579

Tell Congress: Stop Flood of Corporate Money

The Supreme Court has just given big corporations even more influence in our electoral process. The Court has overturned decades of precedent to make sure corporations have the same political rights as living, breathing people.

It's time for Congress to act swiftly and powerfully to make sure voters--not corporations--have control of our elections.

Act now - pass the Fair Elections Now Act.

https://secure3.convio.net/change/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=579

[Owlet]

1. What populist storm?

The one Fox news is trying to say exists? There's nothing populist or even new about these teabaggers. They're the same old white, right-wing republicans that have been around forever. Their idea of populism is "I've got mine: to hell with you." So long as people like Larry Lessig dignify these nasty mobs as populists they'll continue to grab more media attention than they deserve. This isn't the SA in Weimar or the Croix de Feu in France: these are republicans pissed off because a black guy is in the White House. and if we ignore them they'll crawl back under their rocks.

Just my 2 pence.

[flpoljunkie]

2. The Tea Party does not seem at all concerned with 'Too Big To Fail.' Unlike, most of the country.

People are really angry at Wall Street and the Big Banks. The Dems miss a big chance to stand with the people and against the big banks at their electoral peril in November.