3 million petition signatures to overturn Citizens United delivered to Congress
Voting 79-18 to overcome a filibuster, Senators from both parties elected to open up S.J. Resolution 19—known as the "Democracy for All" amendment—to full debate. The legislation seeks to undo Supreme Court rulings in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and McCutcheon v. FEC by authorizing Congress and the states to limit fundraising and spending on federal candidates. The amendment also prohibits the Supreme Court from reversing any future campaign finance legislation passed by Congress.
"If we are going to maintain a true democracy, it's imperative we overturn Citizens United," Independent Senator Bernie Sanders (Vermont) declared before the vote, speaking to a crowd of people rallying outside the Capitol building.
Groups advocating for the amendment—including Greenpeace, Credo Mobile, Common Cause, Public Citizen, MoveOn.org and People for the American Way—delivered over three million signatures calling on lawmakers to "make Congress more responsive to the interests of average Americans – not just the super wealthy and corporate interests.” The "Democracy for All" amendment, the petition reads, "is one of the critical steps to repairing our democracy.”
As the amendment now faces up to 30 hours of debate before it must win a two-thirds majority vote to pass the Senate, groups are pressuring individuals to contact their representatives and voice favor for the measure. A roll call for Monday's vote can be found here.
MORE!!!!!!
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/09/09/senate-advances-effort-overturn-citizens-united
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/09/09/1328331/-PHOTOS-3-000-000-petition-signatures-to-overturn-Citizens-United-delivered-to-Congress
= new reply since forum marked as read
It should overturn the McCutcheon decision. Which I think was wrongly decided.
But 1) the amendment explicitly says it should not be interpreted as affecting freedom of the press, meaning 2) it won't affect Citizens United, which was about a company making and distributing a movie, not about campaign donations.
If you want to overturn the Citizens United decision, then write an amendment that gives Congress the power to decide what counts as legitimate press activity, and what does not. But first think if you really want that.
