To: The Nebraska State House and The Nebraska State Senate
Get Big Money Out of Nebraska Elections
I urge you to support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution which clarifies that money is not speech. The First Amendment was never meant to allow a wealthy few individuals and corporations to drown out the rest of us in our elections. Please help us preserve a government that is of, by, and for the people -- not of, by, and for the wealthiest among us.
Why is this important?
When the Supreme Court ruled in "Citizens United v FEC", they opened the door to a torrent of corporate and special interest election spending. The Court’s decision allowed the creation of Super PACs, which became a vehicle for flooding elections with unlimited and sometimes untraceable money.
As a result, in the 2012 presidential election, just 32 mega-donors -- giving an average of $9.9 million each -- were able to match the total giving of the Obama and Romney campaigns’ 3.7 million small donors. "Citizens United" handed a megaphone to a wealthy few, threatening to drown out the voices of everyday citizens.
In Nebraska, federal campaign spending rose 56% between 2008 and 2012. Outside spending in Nebraska's 2012 U.S. Senate race exceeded $9 million, with 44.4% of that spending coming from undisclosed or only partially disclosed sources.
Sixteen states and more than 500 municipalities have already passed local resolutions calling on Congress to pass a constitutional amendment that would overturn "Citizens United" and clarify that money does not equal speech.
We have an opportunity to make Nebraska the 17th state to pass a resolution before the legislative session ends in March. It’s time for Nebraska to join the movement to protect our democracy.