Take Back Our Democracy

There are many challenging issues confronting this nation—climate change, financial instability, the erosion of Constitutional rights, foreign policy insanity—but as Doug Hughes, the “gyrocopter guy” who landed on the Capitol lawn last April, said, “Those won’t get addressed until we fix campaign finance reform.”

The obscene level of money flooding current campaigns—the Koch Brothers network will spend almost $900 million alone—forms a daunting catch-22 for change: Any candidate seriously advocating campaign finance reform is unlikely to be bankrolled by the rich donors and corporations determined to maintain the status quo. In turn, the sky-high cost of campaigning guarantees that candidates without the big loot stand almost no chance.