Dear Coffee Partiers,
We are excited to announce the launch of a National Coffee Summit on Corporate Personhood and Money in Politics.
Because Money in Politics is such an important issue for the Coffee Party, we are asking you to be part of a national dialogue and decision-making.
After the Summit, there will be an online vote June 21-22 to decide whether or not we want to support any current legislative efforts to address the challenges of Campaign Finance Reform and Corporate Personhood.
This summit is a part of our ongoing Coffee with Main Street campaign seeking to restore democracy in America so that those of us on Main Street have a greater voice in our government.
In January 2010, in the Citizens United vs the Federal Election Commission case, the Supreme Court decided 5-4 to lift restrictions on corporate spending to influence elections. Some see the Citizens United decision as an historic win for the First Amendment; others see this as a grave threat to the democratic process because money may now have an even a greater role in the electoral process.
The Supreme Court based its decision on the premise that the free speech rights afforded to natural persons also applies to corporations, so they must not be subject to legislation passed in recent decades that restricts corporate political spending.
This summit is taking place at a time when Congress is considering three pieces of legislation that address the concerns about money in politics in general and the Citizens United decision in particular:
- The Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections (DISCLOSE) Act
- The Fair Elections Now Act (FENA)
- The Shareholders Protection Act
Let's see if the Coffee Party approach of civility, being fact- and solution-oriented, and leaving party affiliations at the door can help us get to a place where we can make a good decision as to whether or not we will stand behind any of these efforts. You can find guidelines for organizing a summit here.
So, let's roll up our sleeves, put our heads together and get to work on meeting our nation's challenges.
