{news} FW: evening of dialogue on bringing publicly financed “Clean Elections” to Congress

[Charlie Pillsbury]

NOTE: THIS IS NOT A FUND-RAISER; IT’S A FRIEND-RAISER.

DONATIONS TO PUBLIC CAMPAIGN WILL BE REQUESTED BUT ARE NOT REQUIRED.

 

Please join Ms. Eleanor Drury & co-hosts

Senator Martin Looney ♦ Representative Deb Heinrich  

Former Speaker of the House Irv Stolberg ♦ Henry Lord  

Andrew Nyhart & Angie Hurlbut ♦ Allie Perry & Charlie Pillsbury

 

Tuesday evening, October 7th, 2008 from 5:00 – 7:00 PM 

At

390 Livingston Street (opposite College Woods Park)

 

As they welcome longtime Connecticut activist Nick Nyhart, national President & CEO of Public Campaign, for an evening of dialogue on bringing publicly financed “Clean Elections” to Congress. 


We will celebrate Connecticut’s successful inauguration of publicly financed elections this year, discuss how these systems are faring around the country, and examine winning strategies to enact similar change in Congress.

 

Light refreshments will be served.

Please RSVP to Monica Rober: 781.799.4135 or Charlie Pillsbury 203.865.6575 (or by email)

 

Public Campaign is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to reducing the role of special interest money in American politics.  Founded in 1997, we are at the forefront of a national movement to replace our present system of privately funded elections with one that is publicly financed.  This policy solution addresses the fundamental problem that corrupts our electoral process—the dependence by candidates on raising large amounts of private money to fund their campaigns.  

 

At present, individuals who aspire to hold elected office—but who do not enjoy substantial personal fortunes or access to networks of wealthy individuals or corporations—are unlikely to mount a successful bid for office.  As a result:

 

*	Many well-qualified leaders simply choose not to run;
*	Those who do enter local, statewide, or national races are consumed by the ongoing quest to raise money;
*	Voters who aren’t in a position to make substantial political contributions are less involved in the political process than their more wealthy peers;
*	Broad citizen participation in the political process is curtailed;
*	Special interest groups that have the capacity to deliver large sums of money to candidates have excessive influence in the public policy process. 

 

About Clean Elections

 

In the current structure, the torrent of special interest money that flows into political campaigns drowns out the voices of most ordinary Americans, making campaign money—not votes—the real currency of our democracy.  In contrast, the Clean Elections system favored by Public Campaign:

 

*	Establishes effective spending limits for political campaigns;
*	Ends candidates’ dependence on raising money from a relatively small group of individuals and money bundlers;
*	Opens the political process to a diverse range of candidates;
*	Frees candidates to spend more time focusing on the interests of voters;
*	Protects candidates from attacks by independent expenditure groups;
*	Eliminates political donors’ expectation of policy favors by elected officials in exchange for their support.

 

With assistance from Public Campaign, the following states and municipalities now have full public financing systems for their elections:  Arizona; Connecticut; Maine; New Jersey; New Mexico; North Carolina; Vermont; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Portland, Oregon.

 

twocentssmall4 (2) If you plan to make a contribution to a candidate for President or Congress this year please join  other Clean Elections supporters in adding two cents to that donation to show your support for full public financing of elections. Whether your contribution is $20.02 or $2,000.02, it will catch the candidate’s eye and let him know you support real reform. Go to http://www.publicampaign.org/twocents to learn more.

 

 

 

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