Corporations are not people, money is not speech and corporate contributions to the political process do not violate the 1st Amendment! Help needed to gather signatures to get this on the ballot!
South Central Wisconsin Move To Amend (SCWMTA) is a local group formed to participate in the national Move To Amend movement (movetoamend.org)to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s infamous ruling in the Citizens United case that permits unregulated corporate expenditures in support of political candidates.
SCWMTA is working to place a resolution on the April ballot of the Madison elections. Our resolution declares that corporations are not people, and that money is not speech, and, therefore, regulation of corporate contributions to the political process does not violate First Amendment constitutional guarantees of free speech. To place the resolution on the April ballot, we need approximately 16,000 signatures, to be gathered between September 4, 2010 and November 4, 2010.
To succeed in securing 16,000 signatures, we need many, many volunteers SOON to help gather signatures at public gatherings and events, and in our neighborhoods. If you can and will help in our fight to reclaim democracy, or want more information about our efforts, please contact Michael Olneck, Co-Coordinator of SCWMTA volunteers at molneck@yahoo.com or, before 9:30 p.m., at 608-294-6635.
If you wish to attend a SCWMTA meeting this month, we will be meeting on the remaining Monday evenings, beginning at 6:30 p.m., in Room 330, Ebling Library, on the second floor of the Health Sciences Learning Center (HSLC) building on the west end of the UW-Madison campus. Once you get into the library just walk straight until you get to the stairs, go up them and 3330 is the first room on your left. We welcome all who wish to contribute to our efforts.
How often has citizen action been able to successfully overturn a Supreme Court ruling? Just curious what we’re up against here. Thanks!
I do not know for certain. It took a Civil War, and Amendments 13 and 14 to overturn Dread Scott.
It took from 1896 to 1954 for Brown v. Bd. of Ed. to overturn Plessy.
The Equal Rights Amendment has never yet passed.
It took over 100 years to gain women the vote.
It took about 20 years, I think, to overturn Prohibition – though that might have been more about corporate interests than citizen action.
I think federal woman suffrage is the closest parallel, with 46 years between Minor v. Happersett and the 19th amendment.
Aside from that, I’m curious about the 16,000 signature plan. It seems to me that it would be easier to get County Boards or municipalities to place an advisory referendum on the ballot than it would be to collect the signatures. Signature collection is a good organizing tool, but it is also a lot of work.
T.J.,
It IS a lot of work! But it is work we want to undertake to involve people in thinking about this.
Though, I was under the impression that our choices were to do this to get a resolution on the ballot, or, simply, try to get councils and boards to pass such a resolution, something I think is akin to the Berkeley City Council or the Cambridge (M.A.)Town Committee doing, i.e. a big “so what’s new?”
The idea of getting the council or County Board to put the resolution on the ballot is not something I’ve heard discussed. Perhaps others in our group have. I joined well after the effort was underway.
Mike
P.S. Thanks for the info. on a woamn’s suffrage case. I did not know about that.
Mike
NORML is working to get Medical Marijuana referenda on a number of County ballots via County Boards. Worth checking out and considering as an option.
I like the face-to-face of signature collection, but 16,000 is a lot.
ps I liked your history list too. It got me thinking. Most of my first thoughts — income tax amendment, direct election of Senators… — had very significant differences from the current situation. In many ways (not all) the Minor case and the 19th work — Supreme Court says one thing leading to people organizing to change the Constitution so that it says another.
We talked about getting the council to simply pass the resolution, but the reasoning was that having on the ballot would give it broader impact. The challenge, of course, is those signatures. We need lots of new volunteers to help circulate petitions.
Keep up the good work. I’ve seen a great effort.