It is with great pride and a heavy heart that I write to you today. I am proud of the United States of America's heritage and foundation based upon the Bill of Rights that give the American People the opportunity to speak their mind to their government and to ask their representatives to do that job which they were elected to do: represent the People. It is with a heavy heart that I am writing today to discuss a topic which has eroded the American People's ability to have a real voice in their government and turned elections into little more than class warfare.
The Citizen's United vs. FEC ruling by the Supreme Court in 2010 in a divided 5-4 vote began allowing corporations to not only begin spending money through political broadcasts in an effort to promote their candidate of choice but allowed unfettered amounts of money to begin undermining the people's voice. Corporations do not enjoy the right to vote, but they do enjoy the right to directly affect the outcome of elections by spending exorbitant amounts of money to spread their message more loudly and widely than any individual could hope to.
Lobbyists that represent special interest groups are little more than shadow companies that stand between representatives and corporations with the sole purpose of funneling funds from corporations (for-profit and not-for-profit) to candidate's campaigns for election and reelection. Done directly and without a middle man, this act would still be considered illegal in federal campaigns, but by allowing lobbyists to act on their behalf, it has become standard practice and perfectly acceptable to spend money on candidates and ask for political favors and consideration in return.
As of today, I do not accept that it is a foregone conclusion that my government is utterly lost to us. I do not accept that you have all abandoned us completely in the lust for the almighty corporate dollar. I believe that our first act as the People of the United States needs to be communication with our representatives in the United States Government. I am writing you today in an effort to communicate to you, my Representative, my wishes as a member of your constituency.
It is time that you and your peers return the government to the hands of the American People and take it away from faceless corporations that have only one goal in mind: profit for the few on the backs of the many.
On Thursday, December 8, 2011, Sen. Sanders of Vermont introduce a bill to the Senate that would create an amendment to the Constitution to overturn the Citizens United ruling and put the power of governing back into the hands of those that you represent, instead of allowing corporations to continue to dominate our elections by funneling money into campaigns and political broadcasts in an effort to undermine the American People.
I am demanding that you, as a representative of the people, as MY representative, introduce a bill to the House of Representatives that would do the same thing. When each bill passes in the House and the Senate, we can begin the process of letting the People retake their rightful place in a Government. I would like to be able to say that MY representative is the one that began the process of removing corruptions from the United States Government and returned honor and respectability to those that represent the American People.
I am demanding that you, as a representative of the people, as MY representative, introduce a bill to the House of Representatives that would do the same thing. When each bill passes in the House and the Senate, we can begin the process of letting the People retake their rightful place in a Government. I would like to be able to say that MY representative is the one that began the process of removing corruptions from the United States Government and returned honor and respectability to those that represent the American People.
Please do not ignore those People you represent. Approval ratings for both the House and the Senate are at an extreme low. Recent surveys suggest that close to 80% of the American People, people that you and your peers represent feel that no one in Congress should be reelected. This is an expression of our distaste for the way in which our government has quite literally been bought by corporations that are beholden to a small group of shareholders rather than the American People.
We cannot and will not continue to abide this corruption. I am writing you today with the hope that you will reflect the opinion of your constituents and agree that this cannot continue.
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