100 years ago this week, the Tennessee House of Representatives made history when it became the deciding state to ratify the 19th Amendment, prohibiting voter discrimination on the basis of sex. Nearly 50 years after the Seneca Falls Convention, white women gained the right to vote in U.S. elections. It would still be many years… Read more
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We Need Diverse Leaders. Public Campaign Financing is Part of the Solution.
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The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless other people of color have led to a watershed moment in American history. For the first time in more than 50 years, Americans are taking a hard look at the lengths to which racism still poisons the land of the free. The… Read more
Elections and the HEROES Act
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Last month, we watched as Wisconsin attempted to conduct its primaries as usual. The results were disastrous. The Wisconsin Department of Health traced 52 cases of COVID-19 back to in-person voting on April 7. Meanwhile, each state has approached its response to the coronavirus differently, its voting systems included. Enter Congress and the HEROES Act.… Read more
Our Protest Continues
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We’re living in a new world these days. We are staying home instead of going out when the weather gets warmer. When we do go outside, we are staying six feet apart or wearing masks. Our homes have become schools, offices, gyms, refuges. Frontline workers like doctors, nurses, first responders, grocery store clerks, mail carriers,… Read more
How COVID-19 is Changing American Democracy
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COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus, has dominated the headlines for the past few weeks. People across the country are practicing social distancing as doctors, nurses, grocery store employees, and countless others have put themselves on the front lines to combat this novel pandemic. The way we practice democracy is also adjusting. Candidates for offices… Read more
The For The People Act: One Year in Purgatory
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This week marks one year since the House of Representatives passed H.R.1, the landmark For The People Act. What’s happened to the bill since? It’s sat in Mitch McConnell’s legislative purgatory in the Senate. The For The People Act sought to combat some of the greatest challenges facing our democracy. To name a few: It… Read more
Buying Candidates is a Symptom of Oligarchy
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It was a Freudian slip of epic proportions. Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, describing the House’s partisan flip in 2018, bragged that he “bought” the new Democratic majority for $100 million. He quickly corrected himself, but the damage was done. Bloomberg is one of two self-funding billionaires in the Democratic primary. After his… Read more
Public Campaign Financing in New York State: Explained
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Last month, New York became the second state to institute a system of public campaign financing. It follows an eight-month development process by an independent Public Campaign Finance Commission. While the new system might serve as a model for other states wishing to combat the role of big money in politics and amplify the voices… Read more
THE DEMOCRACY REBELLION: Coming to PBS in January
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Americans may be divided over impeachment and the next election but they are united on one thing – strong majorities of Democrats, Independents and Republicans want political reforms that will restore a government that works for average Americans and not wealthy special interests. Polls confirm that, but what many Americans don’t know is that citizen… Read more
Danny Goldberg Reps the Stampede!
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Legendary Stamper Danny Goldberg recently sent us this selfie with the Stamp Stampede sweatshirt! Goldberg, who serves on the boards of People Power Initiatives (the Stampede’s parent non-profit) and Public Citizen, is the former manager of the band Nirvana and the former president of Atlantic Records. His latest book, Serving The Servant: Remembering Kurt Cobain, is available now wherever you… Read more