No question about it, money in politics is destroying our democracy, corrupting our national priorities, and placing the future of our nation in jeopardy.
Big money has become one of the most dangerous forces we face — and the problem is only getting worse.
Accelerated by Citizens United and weak campaign finance rules, our elections now run on an obscene amount of special interest funding, distorting the basic democratic principle of “one person, one vote.” On almost every issue, special interest groups call the shots, preventing Congress from getting anything done that serves the public. Instead, they have passed perverse legislation—from defining pizza as a vegetable for school cafeterias to handing out huge tax breaks to their biggest supporters. In short, politicians have become accountable to those who bankroll them, not the people they represent. Us.
unPAC is a critically important new organization founded on the belief that we can no longer watch quietly from the sidelines as a handful of billionaires and big special interest groups hijack our republic. unPAC is a place where Americans can come together to demand that politicians represent US, the majority. From social networks to town halls to blogs, unPAC will help us amplify our voices. When billionaires buy a politician, when secretive special interest groups meddle in our politics, when politicians fall prey to lobbyists, unPAC will shine a light and publicly call them out. We’ve ignored our democracy far too long, and it’s failing us. It’s time to take it back.
We are witnessing a fundamental shift in how our political system works. Politicians are spending up to 70% of their time chasing lobbyists and billionaires for donations. This means that cashed-up corporations and secret funders can determine who runs for office, whether they get elected and what laws get passed. In the unprecedented excess of this election season, with one man primed to donate $100 million and a handful of other king-makers writing seven-figure checks, we have a historic opportunity to push back against the crisis of big money in politics.
The unsettling alternative is to allow elections controlled by the wealthy to become the new norm. The fight has already begun, from state-based campaigns for public financing to groups across the country advocating for a Constitutional Amendment to overturn Citizens United. But it’s time to ramp up the pressure and get louder. Millions of voices can defeat billions of dollars.
Go to: http://www.unpac.org/ today and get involved.