Anniversary of “Citizens United v. FEC” sparks Summit, satirical rally in D.C., national meet-ups

Eric Byler asked me to post this. It looks like a good event on a very important subject, so check it out!

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Eric Byler, Laurie Dunivant-Larsen

SummitPR@CoffeePartyUSA.com • (301) 259-1842 • www.MovementForThePeople.org

Anniversary of “Citizens United v. FEC” sparks Summit, satirical rally in D.C., national meet-ups

FOR THE PEOPLE Summit convenes in Washington D.C. Jan. 20 to 22

WASHINGTON D.C. Jan. 4, 2011 – To mark the first anniversary of the controversial “Citizens United” Supreme Court ruling, a coalition of advocacy groups and concerned citizens will host the For the People Summit, including a strategic conference at the Washington Plaza Hotel and a “We the Corporations vs. We the People” rally at the U.S. Capitol.

Speakers will include Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Studies, Marge Baker of People for the American Way, John Bonifaz of Free Speech for People, David Cobb of Move to Amend, Eric Hensal of Murray Hill, Inc., Jim Hightower, author of Swim Against the Current, Ellen Hodgeson Brown, author of Web of Debt, Steve Meacham of City Life Vida Urbana, Sanho Tree of the Institute for Policy Studies, and Kevin Zeese of Voters for Peace.

Bill Moyer of the Backbone Campaign and Annabel Park of the Coffee Party are two of the principal organizers. “It’s very hard to make progress on any issue without addressing the problem of money in politics,” Park said, “because right now it takes a nearly impossible amount of effort for ordinary people to compete with the daily influence that entrenched lobbyists enjoy. To succeed, we need to step outside the traditional left-right-center framework and find common cause across the political divide.”

Today, a growing coalition that also includes Center for Media and Democracy, Alliance for Democracy, and Move to Amend launched a new website – MovementForThePeople.org – inviting people around the country to create local events and/or participate on-line.

“The greatest political reform of our time will be to abolish the legal concept of ‘corporate personhood’ and the inherently anti-democratic equation of money with political speech,” Moyer said. “I believe this monumental task will be achieved in the coming years built on a foundation of community-based battles to return power to the People.”

In Washington, Summit events will include:

Lobby Day on Capitol Hill (Jan. 20) supplemented by Lobby Days around the country

“We the Corporations” Satirical Rally (Jan. 21 at 11 AM at the U.S. Capitol Area 9)

Two-day strategic Summit (Jan. 21 and 22 at the Washington Plaza Hotel at Thomas Circle)

Nancy Price, Co-chair of the Alliance for Democracy, said she is impressed with the emerging coalition, for which she has served as an adviser.  “The Summit will be an open discussion putting aside political, cultural, and ideological differences because the problem of money in politics is uniting America like few issues can,” she said. “80% of us disapprove of the Citizens United decision. 87% disapprove of the job Congress is doing. The American public will not accept a future in which we are no longer a self-determining people.”

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CONTACT: Eric Byler, Laurie Dunivant-Larsen • SummitPR @ CoffeePartyUSA.com • (301) 259-1842 • www.MovementForThePeople.org