Saturday, May 15, 2010

From Lawrence Lessig. . .


Today, FixCongressFirst.org is launching an effort to build the biggest lobby in the history of American politics -- one that will beat out Exxon Mobile, SEIU, and the NRA for influence and remake Washington in its own image.

Who are these shadowy powerbrokers going to be, exactly?

You and me -- we the people.

In Washington, they say, money talks. Today, we're starting a movement of citizens prepared to speak Congress' language.

Join us by taking the Funders Pledge now:

http://fixcongressfirst.org/pledge

By taking the pledge, you'll commit to stop contributing to the campaign of any member of Congress who opposes the Fair Elections Now Act.

When thousands of ordinary citizens join the lobbying game -- by committing as a bloc to withhold our donations until they cater to our interests -- we'll show Congress that the cost of opposing election reform is more than it can bear.

Here's how it works:
  • Visit fixcongressfirst.org/pledge to add your name to the pledge.
  • We'll automatically check the records to find the contributions you've made of more than $200. All you have to do is enter an estimate of your campaign contributions from the last two election cycles of less than $200 (the government doesn't keep records of contributions of that size).
  • Your total will be added to the amounts entered by everyone else, showing just how much campaign cash Congress members forfeit by opposing the Fair Elections Now Act.
Once the pledges start rolling in, you'll be able to view the amount of contributions lost by every member of Congress on our "Whip" page:

http://fixcongressfirst.org/Whip

Last year, tens of thousands of people supported the beta run of this pledge effort. This year, we're looking to top that figure -- and we've already got the ball rolling, with a collection of major political donors on board and enthusiastically recruiting their friends and colleagues to join us. The more pledges we get now, the more powerful our citizen lobby will become.

Take the Funders Pledge now:

http://fixcongressfirst.org/pledge

If all of us become lobbyists, we can make lobbying extinct -- and show Congress that corporate interests can't match the power of millions of Americans acting as one.

I hope you'll sign on to this campaign now -- and invite your friends to join us.

-- Lawrence Lessig



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