Dear Friends:

Today marks the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. F.E.C.to equate money with free speech and allow unlimited and unregulated sums of money to overtly take over our longstanding political process. Doing so set a dangerous precedent that effectively says that any special interest, foreign or domestic, with infinite financial resources has the ability to use that wealth to determine the outcome of an election. We cannot allow a group of politically motivated judges to jeopardize the the rights of millions, and the very democracy our country stands for, in a single, irresponsible decision.

One must only look so far as the current Republican Presidential primary to see special interests, corporations, media affiliates, PACs and Super-PACs hard at work to form public opinion. We watch idly as they dig deep into their pockets and mislead the American public with no legal obligation to candidate consent or admission of responsibility. This is nothing short of corporate financed propaganda that robs American citizens of their right to formulate their own educated, calculated decision of another's core principles.

This Court decision has threatened the very framework of our democratic process and sets a precarious standard for the way in which money produces political results, regardless of popular participation. It illustrates a future in which the voices of the affluent few drown out the voices of the many and an open electoral process strikes a sense of nostalgia. One can only begin to imagine the multitude of long-term ramifications this decision will bring.

For these reasons and more I have twice introduced a constitutional amendment, H.J.Res.72, in an effort to reclaim the voice of the people and to affirm the authority of Congress and state legislatures to salvage our independence from the blatant corruptive influence that has found its way into our elections. This amendment allows Congress to regulate political donations and expenditures for Federal elections, permits States to regulate political donations and expenditures for State elections and ballot initiatives and bans foreign financial influence from all domestic political activities. With a constitutional mandate to regulate contributions from the few who wish to try to buy our elections, Congress and the States will have the opportunity to write laws that collectively address evolving campaign finance practices of the twenty-first century. Good government adapts to the needs and realities of a progressing society and electoral process, while defending the rights of the many who wish to fairly and appropriately participate.

We are always told to pick our battles. Regulating campaign contributions to rid of unknown special interest in our nation's elections and amplifying the voice of ordinary American citizens is a battle we are all worthy of. 

Kurt