The Anti-Corruption Pledge

Corporations are not people. I don't know what dictionary the Supereme Court used but not Webster's. People-persons composing a community, tribe, race, nation etc. Person- the living body of a human being. Human being- any man or woman.

Mr. Lessig has pointed out elsewhere that representatives used to spend their days debating important issues. Now lobbyists take up the vast majority of their time. Their decisions are therefore informed by lobbyists and other unelected advisors. Reps act on behalf of industries and corporations, not their constituents, and the worst part is that the bribery is all perfectly legal.

Unfortunately, while I'm aligned with the spirit of the pledge, money isn't the root of the problem. Individuals should be able to support people -- with money if desired. The real issue is corporate personhood which is a co-optation of democracy and something more complex -- the "end of growth", but immense confusion between the Judeo-Christian-Muslim storylines.regarding what to do. I'm not Jewish, but must concede that they alone had anticipated a turning point in Mankind's journey of knowledge while the rest were hoping for some far-off heaven to magically be brought to. Mark dreamingforward@gmail.com

I personally would like to take one of the pledges to one of my elected official to have him sign it. I would love to see the expresion on his/her face and of course I would tape it. All of these other pledges they sign to a lobbyist or special interest group is treason in my opinion. To quote Ron Paul in one of the debates he said "If Congress would abide by their oath of office we wouldn't have 80% of the problems we have". That pretty much says it all. I wish we could put them in jail for treason. I don't know how they can sleep at night unless they actually beleive the garbage that comes out of their mouths. The media, in my oprinion, is here to create a level playing field for the American people by giving us the real facts. We are sick and tired of the same old stupid talking points. The money the media receives for the commercials they run for the candidates is gravy money for them but they say how bad the pacs are the stupid money they are spending but the except it and plenty of it. So what does that make them? Hippicritts, whores or somewhere in between. I think the main stream media is just as corrupt as our Government. We no longer have a Government of the people and for the people. We now have an oligarchy of special interest groups that buy our Congress so we have a Government that is of Lobbysit and for Special Interest Groups.

This is a good start, however for long term effectiveness we must change the nature of corporations and even private business in the world. Corporate charters must be changed to make the good of humanity/ the environment both physical and social a first priority, the employees a second priority and profit last. All boards should be 50% employees and also contain environmental and community experts and the size of the corporation should be limited. A constitutional amendment should mandate these changes along with eliminating corporate personhood and money as speech.

MCLYZ: Part of the pledge is to declare an end to corporate personhood. It's not quite as dramatic as your idea, but it's a step in the same direction.

You will find that most of the corruption money that buys washington goes into campaign contributions. Therefore, it is our election sysstem that must be fixed first.. Throwing the bums out does not work because we use the same election system to vote in the brand new bums. The Supreme court was wrong. Businesses are not people with regard to governance, they cannot vote or hold office. Businesses can only buy votes and offices. Mal

Mal, I couldn't agree more. We're talking about a corrupt institution with an improper dependence, which is why we think it's important to frame the problem broadly and then think about specific reforms.

So long as most of us are dumb enough to fall for the republican knee jerk propaganda this will continue. We need to fight back with the truth....we've sat and assumed people have sense enough to recognize b.s. when they see it. THEY DON'T

Whatever happened to Ethics? Why don't they count anymore? The Government Of The People has been hijacked by special interests, and the People let them do it. The People can undo it too. By presenting a united front against the current government, The People can still remove them ALL from office and replace them with people of the People's Choice.

I believe all voters should pledge to vote only for candidates who pledge to accept support only from identified individual persons, and who pledge to refuse support from any corporation, trust or any unidentified organization. All candidates should be notified of every voter who has taken this pledge. All political office holders should be subject to full financial disclosure and audit. Any unexplained assets will be assumed to have been obtained by corruption and the candidate be removed and subject to punishment. Singapore instituted a similar system, and corruption has been greatly reduced.

Legalized corruption amongst our policy makers is the most important issue of our time. The corruption of our democracy is so institutionalized, that our lawmakers take it for granted--they can't even see how flawed the system they work in is. All americans must take a stand and fight for reform.

With the Citizens United decision, a clearly activist conservative faction on the Supreme Court has turned a wound into a bleeding, festering, life threatening infection. Elected officials dependence on special interest cash—and not the people—has to end.

Watch "Pricele$$" ( http://www.pricelessmovie.org/ ). It's currently making the rounds on PBS. A documentary from two filmmakers that looks into the cost of being elected or reelected. Disclosure: I have no association with the film. I just happened to see it last night on my local PBS station (member/supporter). Believe me, it is worth the time.

Elected officials were given their jobs by the votes of their constituents. Therefore, they have a moral and ethical responsibility to act on behalf of those constituents, NOT on behalf of special interests. I'm alarmed at the number of people who become millionaires while serving. It's abundantly clear that it's not from their salaries. Money has totally corrupted government and companies, and the average American is paying for it. This must stop NOW!

With a single contribution, corporate interests can nullify the wishes and needs of hundreds of thousands of individual citizens. That's bad enough on its own, BUT, with the Citizens United decision, a clearly activist conservative faction on the Supreme Court has turned a wound into a bleeding, festering, life threatening infection. This challenges the very basis of our democracy. Regardless of Mr. Romney's position, MOST Americans do NOT feel that corporations are people, with the rights and privileges of citizenship. Campaign Finance Reform should be implemented to overturn the Citizens United ruling and ensure that when a voice is heard we can identify the motivation behind that voice. After serving their country in Congress, senators and congress members should have to wait at least two years before working in any firm that could possibly lobby on behalf of any special interest that member had worked with while in the employ of the US Congress. This is NOT a RED or BLUE problem. It is a RED, WHITE, and BLUE problem. Performance Review: MY Rep: Go back to selling cars on your car lots MY Senator: You are on the right track, but you will receive failing grades if you can't persuade the Senate to listen to ME and my peers as well as to big oil and big business. The US House: You'd be better off starting over with reps with no history or friends in the lobbying trade.