Clean Elections Campaign - February Update, "Bad News!"

February 2010 Hi Everyone - The Supreme Court's recent decision allowing corporations to spend unlimited funds on political campaigns makes our clean elections campaign all the more important.  See the article below by local Diego political consultant, Larry Remer. Phone bank moves to Wednesday nights We have moved our clean elections phone bank to Wednesday nights starting this Wednesday, February 3.  The location is still the same, 3609 Fourth Avenue in Hillcrest and we start at 6pm.  Volunteers are always appreciated.  Come join us!  For more information, contact John Hartley. We are targeting the 2012 general election Just a reminder that our intention is to put a clean elections ballot measure on the 2012 general elections ballot for the city of San Diego.  There is also a statewide ballot measure on this June primary which if it passes, will provide for a pilot clean elections process for the statewide, Secretary of State office.  For more information on this effort, give Common Cause organizer, Jeanne Brown, a call at 619-857-1807. Court Opens the Way for Influx of Corporate Big Money The US Supreme Court's unprecedented tilt towards "Big Money" politics has made the need for Clean Elections more urgent than ever. In late January, the Supreme Court, by a 5-4 margin, overturned more than 100 years of precedent by ruling that restrictions on campaign spending by corporations and labor unions is an unconstitutional violation of the 1st amendment. The Court's decision overturned key provisions of the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Law as well as other federal limits on special interest spending. In essence, the Court lifted virtually all restrictions on campaigning by corporations and unions. Some observers believe that this will open the floodgates to hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign spending in the upcoming midterm elections. President Obama criticized the Court's ruling during his State of the Union Address and public interest groups from across the country have joined in a rising chorus of outrage. The ruling has given new life to Clean Elections efforts across the country. With a political system that places virtually no limits or restrictions on special interest money, Clean Elections style ordinances offer the only hope for ordinary citizens to make their voices heard. Larry Remer, Political Consultant Thanks again for your clean elections donations Thanks again to those who have sent in checks for our campaign.  We do need to raise money in order to successfully qualify and pass a clean elections initiative.  If you have not done so, please consider making a contribution now.  Make a check out to: Neighborhoods for Clean Elections and mail to: Neighborhoods for Clean Elections, P.O. Box 16066, San Diego, CA, 92176 John Hartley, Coordinator for Neighborhoods for Clean Elections 619-299-8870/hartley2k@aol.com _____________________________ Change email address / Leave mailing list: http://ymlp194.com/u.php?YMLPID=gueysjjgsgwemg