Website      About Us       Member Organizations      Our Actions       Media Center     Contact Us      Join
MOPI Newsletter
October 2014
 

The Need to Get Money Out & People In Couldn't Be More Obvious!

Is your email inbox overflowing with requests? It is beyond disgusting.  But we can't roll over and play dead. Those who want a change can't get there without a war chest.  Even Lawrence Lessig's Mayday project keeps needing money to campaign for those who want to get money out of politics.  All of this underlines the importance of strengthening our movement and taking action that is organized, that calls out those who impede change and that moves the general public to act.  

Check out the following articles in this issue that inspire action -
Montgomery County Maryland Chooses Fair Elections 
and
Tallahassee Puts the Vote to Its Citizens   

 
FOLLOW US:
Like us on Facebook  Follow us on Twitter
In This Issue
Links
Projects and Events 

Citizens United Anniversary - January 21 - 

National Day of Action - Time to Plan a Biggie

 

Sat. Nov. 14, 11:30 am, Planning Meeting, El Charro Restaurant, Lafayette - Public Citizen is taking the lead to make this coming Anniversary a national and local blockbuster. You're invited. Representatives of other groups who would like to join us at our brainstorming meeting are needed. Shall we have a big Bay Area event? Shall we have local events? Shall we do both? What kind of events?

Contact sheilahfish@yahoo.com with any questions and if you plan to come. 
"Pay 2 Play" Documentary House Parties - 
Join Our Preview Party

 

In December activists across the country will gather in living rooms, theaters and community centers to show a film about the disastrous effects of the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision and to discuss next steps for overturning the ruling.   MOPI members will be reviewing the film at a house party to determine if we'd like to hold a large public event or to support many house parties.  Join us!  We'd like to hear your opinion.

 

Pay 2 Play is a documentary that takes viewers on a journey through the high drama of an Ohio campaign, uncovers the secret history of the game Monopoly, explores the underworld of Los Angeles street art and shows how the American people can prevent a few plutocrats from buying our democracy.  

Shall We Copy Tallahassee?

 

On November 4th, there's one election in America to watch.  Anti-corruption organizers in Tallahassee, Florida have been working for months to mount a pivotal campaign in our movement's history - a fight to save one city from the tide of big money politics and corruption that threatens our future in cities across the country.

 

The story behind the organizers, and the grassroots momentum for the Anti-Corruption Act they're trying to pass, will be an instant classic on Election Day. So let's cover the details now and brainstorm after the election on action here.  

 

If you want to help, contact us at moneyout_peoplein@yahoo.com

Watch our explainer video and get the scoop on Tallahassee before the big vote.

Corruption Action Project (CAP)

(Note Assembly candidate Tim Sbranti's comments)

 

We launched this campaign where we ask candidates about their commitments to bills to change the corruption in politics  We plan to carry the project forward after the election.This project is media worthy, easy to do and educates the public. In the Contra Costa Assembly race Tim Sbranti has publicly stated that he supports the California DISCLOSE Act and in fact, wants to sponsor it.  This is especially noteworthy because Tim has been active in the  CTA and we understand that the 3 Democrats who bailed at the last minute were influenced by the CTA and the SEIU.  We will definitely be focused on these 2 unions in the future.  

Articles of Note


 

Rolling Stone Outs the Kochs

 

The enormity of the Koch fortune is no mystery. Brothers Charles and David are each worth more than $40 billion. The electoral influence of the Koch brothers is similarly well-chronicled. The Kochs are our homegrown oligarchs; they've cornered the market on Republican politics and are nakedly attempting to buy Congress and the White House.  


Read more here here

Montgomery County, Maryland Chooses Fair Elections

 

On September 30, Maryland's Montgomery County Council took a stand against Citizens United by unanimously passing Fair Elections legislation. This law will lessen the impact of big money and boost the importance of small donors throughout the county. Learn how it works.

 

This is a big victory! More than a million people live in Montgomery County and their voices will now be heard in politics. But this is just the beginning. We and our partners will build on this success by taking the fight for Fair Elections to the rest of the state and the country!

 

Tell the Council you support their courageous and important vote by signing this thank you card.
Election to Cost Nearly $4 Billion Topping Previous Midterms

Almost $4 billion will be spent for this year's midterm election, the Center for Responsive Politics is projecting. That figure makes this year's election by far the most expensive midterm ever. Read the entire story here.

Boycott Products with One Simple App

 

For smart phone users, there's a free app that allows you to avoid products for a number of reasons, including boycotting the Koch brothers, at buycott.com. 

Wouldn't It Be Great If You Could Sue a Politician For Lying? Now You Can.

Sick of politicians telling smooth lies on the campaign trail, only to sell you out to lobbyists after they get elected? Independent Congressional Candidate John Denney has your back. He's signed a legally binding pledge to never accept conflict of interest campaign money or work as a lobbyist if elected. If he goes back on his word, the agreement maps out a lawsuit against him by the people of Minnesota.

 

The contract was drafted by Richard Painter, a member of the Represent.Us Board of Advisors and fierce proponent of The American Anti-Corruption Act.  Denney also endorses the Act on his website. Denney is offering the people of Minnesota a "money back guarantee" that he'll do his part to get money out of politics. And he's asking the rest of America to join him.

 

We don't know if Denney's chutzpah will get him elected, but we sure think his efforts are worth a shot. Let's all give him a big boost by sharing this video and showing the world what a new kind of Congressional candidate could look like.

Petitions 
Join Elizabeth Warren Demanding Investigation 
Into Goldman Sachs Tapes

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is supposed to be responsible for regulating the nation's biggest banks.  But 46 hours of secret audio recordings released by a former New York Fed regulator - a woman who says she was fired for being too tough on Goldman Sachs - indicate that the big banks are the ones in charge, not the Fed.

When regulators care more about protecting big banks from accountability than protecting the American people from risky behavior on Wall Street, it threatens our whole economy.

Join Senator Sherrod Brown and me in calling for a Congressional oversight investigation into the disturbing issues raised by the Goldman Sachs tapes.

Our regulators seem to think they're being tough on the big banks. But when I ask them about the last time they took a big bank to trial, or the last time they referred a senior bank executive for criminal prosecution, they're stumped.  
Assembly Democrats Kill CA DISCLOSE Act

The biggest step in years we could take to inform voters who is really behind ads and mailers on ballot propositions was killed in the legislature when three Democrats bailed at the last minute from pressure from the CTA and the SEIU. We plan to get working on this after the election. Almost all newspapers in CA have endorsed DISCLOSE as do hundreds of thousands of Californians. You can take a bold step toward removing the influence of big money on our government, turning it back toward government of, by, and for the people, by signing this petition addressed to the Assembly Democrats and their leader, Speaker Toni Atkins. Click here to sign the petition to help stop deception on ballot proposition ads.
s
Vote for the Worst of the Worst in the Corporate Hall of Shame

Every year, Corporate Accountability International asks you to vote for the most shameful corporation of the year. Based on your input, they partner with allied organizations and voters to mobilize grassroots momentum to turn up the heat on corporations that corrupt the political process, abuse human rights and devastate the environment.

Cast your vote for reprehensible companies such as Chevron, Trans Canada, GM, Monsanto, Bayer, Veolia, Comcast, Philip Morris, McDonalds, Credit Suisse, or name your own corporate bad guy here.
Recent Actions and Events 
Getting Reinspired by Bernie Sanders in Richmond

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) came to Richmond on October 16 to speak on behalf of Mayor Gail McLaughlin and others facing a $3 million barrage by Chevron in its bid to buy their local election. Sanders gave a fiery speech that pointed to the Koch Brothers "libertarian" dream for making America even more favorable to just the rich than it is even today. For all of us who attended, Bernie's speech got the fire in our bellies going. 
Kick the Koch Habit Boycott and Rally
 - September 27

An informative and fun rally was held in Walnut Creek on September 27.  Click on any of these links for Koch information and actions.

 

Take and share this  pledge to kick the Koch habit.

 

Click here
for a business card-sized list of Koch products to avoid.

Click here

for an 8 �- X 11-inch flyer listing Koch products. 
for a Koch brothers fact pamphlet
for a YouTube video of Michael Sullivan and local singers performing It's The Deal Thing  

Volunteer Needs
Phonebanking and Registering Voters at DVC Make a Difference

Thank you to the volunteers who did phonebanking to Senate swing states and a big thank you to those who went to Diablo Valley College every Tuesday and Wednesday to register voters.
You are needed!  We do our best to find a way to participate that fits your interests and time.   We invite you to join with us in any of the following areas:

Speakers Bureau- speak and/or help find organizations to whom to speak
Support the webmaster - research and other
Help on the CAP (Corruption Awareness Project) which is simple and will be very powerful if we can get it to spread
Tabling
Hold a movie house party
Be a caller for the telephone tree
Help with Letters to the Editor
Attend rallies
Join the Core organizing team

Please send an email to moneyout_peoplein@yahoo.com with Volunteering in the subject line and our Volunteer Coordinator, Loretta Matthieu, will get back to you. 

 
Tabling at Solano Stroll, September 14

Who Are We?

MoneyOut! PeopleIn! was created by Central Contra Costa and Tri-Valley MoveOn Councils when we decided that we wanted to put most of our energy into getting big money out of politics.  We put the word out and in no time had 15 groups that support our mission.  What has evolved is that most of the work is done by members of the two Councils mentioned above, CA Clean Money Campaign, East Bay Move to Amend and Common Cause.  We are always looking for more supporting groups like the groups you can see on our website.  We all have the fire in our belly about getting our Democracy back. 

 

Sheilah, Gordon, Karen, Joe, Sally, Judy, Ann, Michael, Joan,  Eloise, Jennifer, Brodie, Madeline, Cindy, Ellis, Sharon and more
STAY CONNECTED
Like us on Facebook  Follow us on Twitter
Copyright � 2014. All Rights Reserved.