The 28th Amendment is taking another step toward approval! Senators Tom Udall (D-NM) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) announced outside the Supreme Court yesterday that they are reintroducing the amendment to the Senate.
The 28th Amendment, aka the Democracy for All Amendment, takes direct aim at the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, declaring once and for all that money is not speech and corporations are not people. The House of Representatives approved the amendment with bipartisan support in January. That companion bill, H.J.Res.2, has over 130 co-sponsors.
“Ever since the Supreme Court ruled to open the floodgates for unlimited corporate spending in our elections, secret special interest money has poured in—and drowned out the voices of the American people,” said Udall. “And the door has opened even wider for the ultra-wealthy and well-connected to root themselves in our government and pull the levers of our democracy.”
“Few decisions in the 200 and some odd years of this republic have threatened our democracy like Citizens United. People say they want to get rid of the swamp. Citizens United is the embodiment of the swamp,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) at yesterday’s rally. He added, “[O]verturning Citizens United is probably more important than any other single thing we could do to preserve this great and grand democracy.”
Since the Citizens United decision in 2010, corporations, super PACs, and dark money groups have spent BILLIONS (yes, that’s billions with a b) influencing our elections. In 2018 alone, outside groups spent nearly $1.1 billion to rig the midterms. Compare that to the $69 million spent in 2006.
There is overwhelming support for overturning Citizens United among the American public. To date, 20 states and more than 800 cities and towns have passed resolutions in favor of the Amendment. According to our partners at American Promise, over 80 percent of Americans support an amendment to combat the influence of money in politics. The majority of the 2020 candidates for president also support the amendment.
Call your senators today at (202) 224-3121 or 202-224-3091 (TTY) and urge them to support the Democracy For All Amendment. And, as always, you can show your support by (literally) stamping money out of politics!