New Group Formed To Limit Political Money - United Republic

[housewolf]

New Group Formed To Limit Political Money


United Republic - a new group dedicated to eliminating the influence of money in politics - is launching a multipronged effort to: increase awareness of the weight political money has, replace lawmakers who put money ahead of their constituents and, ultimately, amend the constitution to limit money's power in politics.

The influence special interest groups have is a "chronic condition that desperately threatens the health of the country," said Nick Penniman, the group's president and the former executive director of the Huffington Post Investigative Fund. "It was bad 10 years ago, but it's really bad now."

The group, which was officially launched last month, was founded by Penniman; Josh Silver, the cofounder and former CEO of Free Press; and Jimmy Williams, who worked with MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan to start the Get Money Out campaign. United Republic has effectively absorbed that campaign and a similar one called Rootstrikers, founded by Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig and political strategist Joe Trippi. United Republic has about a dozen employees now, split between its offices in Washington and Florence, Mass., and will have a budget of between $5 million and $10 million this year raised through donations, its founders said.

United Republic sees the government as incapable of solving the country's challenges because of the influence money carries. Its first goal is to build a grassroots movement by getting towns and cities around the United States to pass resolutions to eliminate money in politics. The group has several other campaigns in the works, but its leaders were mostly mum on the details. They are planning, for example, to try to unseat two House Democrats and two House Republicans next year that they believe are putting K Street money before their constituents. They said they are still finalizing whom they will target.

Silver, who is serving as United Republic's chief executive, said the organization will fund the effort transparently and without a super PAC.

The initiative is part of United Republic's larger accountability program. It will also have an investigative arm and a website that its founders hope will serve as a hub for both wonks and average people interested in learning more about money in politics.

To show that the effort is not partisan, the group is working to build a coalition that includes conservatives. Its staff and volunteers have been in touch with corporate CEOs, former Republican lawmakers, conservative grassroots leaders and small business owners about trying to create a wave of support for their initiatives.

"For us, this is absolutely not about the left or right," Penniman said. "It's an all-American issue."


Source: National Journal's Influence Alley email

[Old and In the Way]

1. Sure! The Republicans will get right on that!

Getting money out of politics is something near and dear to their hearts.