I am not a professional in the domain of political campaigns. I have not studied the civil rights, women's suffrage or prohibition movements in a hard way to learn what could help in achieving campaign finance reform (whether by legislation or constitutional amendment). I have only a lay person's common sense and powers of observation.
I agree with Wolfpac that taking steps to call a constitutional convention can pressure Congress. On this, the Wolfpac plan webpage says:
Something to keep in mind:
Near the turn of the 20th century the American people wanted to be able to elect their senators directly, but Congress was the last body of government that was going to change the way they got elected (sound familiar?!). So the states took it upon themselves and started calling for a convention one by one for the sole purpose of the direct election of senators. It took 13 years before they got within a couple states of the necessary 2/3 threshold to force a convention. When it became clear to Congress that the 17th Amendment was going to happen with or without them, they decided to preempt a convention by proposing it themselves. Calling for a convention on a specific issue is the strongest message we can send to Congress, and the most effective way to restore our democracy in the United States.The time frame that FightBigMoney has on its mind for achieving satisfactory reform is important. One senses that MoveToAmend, MAYDAY, RepresentUs, WolfPac and others, deep down, believe it is going to take years to achieve satisfactory reform. DemSpring talks as if 2017 is realistic, but they probably don't believe it.
The contemporaneous revolutionary/populist fervor
In connection with the Trump and Sanders Presidential campaigns, there has sprung up a powerful, widespread agitation in the citizenry against the political establishment. This fervor is diffuse. While there is much railing about a "fixed" or "rigged" or "crooked" political system, the Sanders "political revolution" agenda is broad and covers such matters as international trade, health care, college education, and a $15 minimum wage. On the Trump side, immigration and building a wall are a top priority, as are more favorable trade deals and shifting costs of global defense onto other countries.
While the Trump and Sanders movements have significant commonality against the political establishment and a rigged political system, there is little sign the two movements will join forces in the fight against big money. This would seem due to do ingrained antipathy between Democrats and Republicans and the disparate agendas of the two movements.
Is FightBigMoney a weak force?
At the moment, I would say FightBigMoney is a very weak force.
It does not take an expert to appreciate that, in carrying out a campaign to achieve a political goal, messaging must be massively purveyed to the voters to persuade them of the importance of the goal to themselves and they should vote and do other things to advance the goal.
FightBigMoney has scant money to spend on TV advertising, mailings, phone banking or door to door canvassing in order to purvey its message to the public.
FightBigMoney tried to get public attention by means of its April demonstration in Washington. That achieved little, particularly considered in comparison to the massive public attention paid to the Presidential candidates and their messaging.
The FightBigMoney constituency has been and remains puny. compared to the Sanders and Trump constituencies.
With its own puniness, FightBigMoney has not tried to insinuate itself into the large Sanders and Trump movements, in order to promote to their supporters the FightBigMoney agenda and has not made effort to persuade the two movements to join forces against big money. I consider this a sign that FightBigMoney considers itself to be a weak force and is currently resigned to that.
FightBigMoney is ostensibly seeking to participate in the marching on the Democratic convention in Philadelphia. That marching will be mainly for the Sanders "political revolution" and its diverse agenda. As has been the case thus far, it does not appear that FightBigMoney is making any attempt to to promote the FightBigMoney agenda to Sanders supporters and to urge joining with Trump supporters against big money.
My telltale sign
I consider how FightBigMoney is using social media as a particular sign of how weak a political force FightBigMoney currently is.
Social media provides a means for messaging that does not require funds (as does TV advertising, etc.) to do messaging but only requires volunteers willing to put in time and effort to do messaging.
With the foregoing opportunity afforded for doing messaging without having to spend money, FightBigMoney has chosen to stay in "echo chambers," in which there is only "preaching to the choir", and which leaves 99% of the voters receiving no FightBigMoney messaging.
One possible explanation is that FightBigMoney believes that volunteers would be unwilling to put in time and effort needed to push social media messaging outside of the "echo chambers" that are only "preaching to the choir." Alternatively FightBigMoney may believe that voters would not be responsive to FightBigMoney messaging in the social media.
If this is true, they are signs of FightBigMoney's weakness as a political force. These signs are compounded by FightBigMoney's unwillingness to even discuss the situation.
I solicit comments on the foregoing observations, but understand that comments may not be forthcoming.
Update 7/5/2016
Democracy Spring sent out the below July 3rd email re "See you in Philly."
There is the following P.S. in the email.
"P.S. Help spread the word: share this graphic now. We need to reach millions with our call to action"
The email is basically in the "echo chamber" and "preaching to the choir." "Spreading the word" in the conventional way in the social media will have limited reach to voters generally.
Democracy Spring could "reach millions [of voters generally] with [its] call to action" if it had a 1,000 volunteers tweeting in tweeting banks. A sign of FightBigMoney weakness is that it probably could not get 20 volunteers to tweet in tweeting banks.
 Rob --
It’s time to make history again.
This past April, over 1300 of us were arrested at the US Capitol, demanding that Congress end the corruption of big money in politics and protect the right to vote. It was the largest American civil disobedience action of this century and announced a democracy movement that will no longer tolerate the status quo of political corruption in our nation.
In three weeks, we must do it again. When the Democratic Party gathers for its national convention, we will face a crucial test in the fight to force action to save our democracy.
With the nation watching, we will offer the Party a clear choice: either publicly commit to fix our democracy in the first 100 days of a new administration, or face mass nonviolent civil disobedience throughout the convention.
Why the DNC? Because that is where our movement has leverage right now.
It’s no secret that the Democratic presidential primary has been marred by voter suppression and the prospect of unelected superdelegates deciding the contest against the will of voters. And, inspired by the insurgent challenge of a candidate almost entirely funded by small donors, a rising progressive generation is demanding a political revolution that establishes a government of, by, and for the People – not just the billionaires. Yet, the Party is set to confirm a presumptive nominee who openly raises millions from big money interests without restriction and continues to confine her support for systemic reform to a website page and brief, vague statements.
Meanwhile, even after our April sit-ins moved over 100 members of the House Democratic caucus to sign on to a letter supporting our reform agenda, the Senate’s Democratic leaders have proposed a reform package that leaves out the most game-changing thing they could enact with a simple majority: public funding of elections.
When our democracy is at stake and reform is necessary to open the door to seriously addressing the urgent moral crises of climate change, mass incarceration, and a rigged economy, lip service and back-burner half-measures are not enough.
It is time for the Democratic Party to unequivocally embrace and enact the political revolution that millions of its voters are calling for.
We demand that the presidential nominee and Congressional leaders of the Democratic Party publicly commit to pass democracy reforms that would establish publicly funded elections, overturn Citizens United, and ensure comprehensive voting rights protections for all Americans within the first 100 days of a new administration. Further, as an immediate, good faith step toward establishing “one person, one vote” political equality in all elections in our country, we demand that the Democratic Party clean its own house by immediately abolishing superdelegates.
If our demand is not met, we must and will engage in mass nonviolent civil disobedience to disrupt business as usual throughout the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
This is not about Bernie. It's about a political revolution to save our democracy so we can transform our country and realize intersectional justice for all.
This is an opportunity for the millions of people who’ve been inspired by the Bernie Sanders’ campaign to join others in strategic nonviolent action to push that revolution forward – and open the door to rapid progress on economic, racial, social, and environmental justice.
Democracy Spring is and will remain an independent, nonpartisan, nonviolent movement of love, hope, and truth. All are welcome who share our goal of political equality. We will have a presence at the RNC and will target many pro-corruption Republican candidates with disruption across the country in the coming months, but at present there is only one path toward a new President and Congressional majority pledged to pro-democracy reform: forcing the Democrats to honor their base and publicly embrace our agenda.
Many people may travel to Philly in despair and disappointment, uncertain about the path forward. We must be present in force and make it clear: there is hope, we can change the system, a movement is growing, and it is bigger than any candidate or any one election. If we change the system and win a democracy for all, a future we can all believe in is indeed possible.
If the Democratic Party wants our support and collaboration in promoting itself to the voters of America, they must pledge to #FixDemocracyFirst. Abolish superdelegates now. Voting rights, public finance, overturn Citizens United in the first 100 days.
Sign up to join us. It’s time to make history again.
#SeeYouInPhilly
Kai Newkirk & the Democracy Spring Team
P.S. Help spread the word: share this graphic now. We need to reach millions with our call to action. |
| -=-=-
Democracy Spring · United States
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