The Center for Public Integrity and Global Integrity released findings from their State Integrity Investigation, a comprehensive analysis of government accountability and ethics across the U.S. The results of their study are disturbing as a mere three states earned grades higher than a D+.
According to the study, "Across the country, state lawmakers and agency officials operate with glaring conflicts of interest and engage in brazenly cozy relationships with lobbyists. Ethics and open records laws are riddled with loopholes, while the watchdogs meant to enforce them face crippling shortages of cash and staff."
"It's D-Day for American democracy" as Republican pollster Frank Luntz wrote in the New York Times after last year's elections, "From the reddest rural towns to the bluest big cities, the sentiment is the same. People say Washington is broken and on the decline, that government no longer works for them, only for the rich and powerful."
Money's dominance of politics is fueling this decline more rapidly than ever; it's supplanting our hard-fought right to self governance with a system more akin to oligarchy. Yet, ask anyone what can be done to fix democracy and they often draw blanks.
Many of those who do respond might say that we need to amend the Constitution to overturn Citizens United. But the truth is that there's so much that can be done, despite Citizens United. We can fix 75 percent of the money-in-politics and influence-peddling problem regardless of the Supreme Court.
CLICK HERE to read Nick Penniman's article in the Huff Post Politics.
Blueprints for Democracy
Blueprints for Democracy is designed to meet the challenge of money-in-politics reform with concrete proof – proof that Americans in cities and states all over the country can make their elections more open, their campaigns more transparent and their lawmakers more accountable.
Blueprints provides an overview of how reforms have been implemented across the country, and best practices for legislators and advocates enacting change in their local communities.
The reforms recommended are based on five basic principles:
EVERYONE PARTICIPATES - New systems of financing elections are enacted that empower small donors and strengthen civic participation.
EVERYONE KNOWS - There is full transparency and immediate disclosure of political contributions and expenditures.
EVERYONE PLAYS BY COMMON-SENSE RULES - Political conflicts of interest are diminished and new ethical norms take hold.
EVERYONE IS HELD ACCOUNTABLE - Candidates, elected officials and organizations are held accountable for breaking campaign finance laws.
EVERYONE HAS A VOICE - Congress is constitutionally empowered to make laws governing the flow of money in and around politics.
CLICK HERE for more information about the Blueprints for Democracy.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
