Thursday, November 29, 2018
Who in the U. S. makes political donations
American Promise is an advocacy organization dedicated to passing the 28th Amendment to regulate big money in politics.
Charlie Cooper
H: 410-578-8291
M: 410-624-6095
Get Money Out – Maryland (GMOM) 
“We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.” – Louis Brandeis
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Thursday, November 15, 2018
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Reduced gerrymander yields results in Pennsylvania
NC kept it’s gerrymandered districts, on the other hand. There, Democrats got nearly half the votes, but only a quarter of the House seats.
Thanks to Mark Patro for finding this article.
Charlie Cooper
Monday, November 12, 2018
House Democrats will push for disclosure and public campaign finance
Charlie Cooper
H: 410-578-8291
M: 410-624-6095
Get Money Out – Maryland (GMOM) 
“We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.” – Louis Brandeis
Sunday, November 11, 2018
Federal Court rules Maryland's 6th Congressional District Unconstitutional
State Democrats sought to punish Republican voters, in violation of their First Amendment right to freedom of association. The case was sent down to a three-judge panel by the U. S. Supreme Court and can now go directly back up to the high court, paving the way for a possible groundbreaking case on political gerrymandering.
Charlie Cooper
Saturday, November 10, 2018
Why Big Money Is Being Pumped Into A Small New Mexico Race : NPR
Friday, November 9, 2018
Fwd: TBOR, Reform Among Big Election Night Winners
Amid the Democrats celebrating winning the House and Republicans celebrating expanding their Senate lead, the two Take Back Our Republic funded campaigns both won big victories that shows Republicans will join Democrats to pass serious reforms. Because almost all of our time and efforts go into research and education, we can only budget a couple of ballot box measures (and we can never endorse a candidate) so we were very selective in choosing to spend money on these two - and only these two - efforts.NORTH DAKOTA CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM 54%-46% WIN. Those who follow www.takeback.org, yesterday's email and our NewsMax pieces know of our paid ads and even an election eve TV appearance in Fargo to try to pull out a win for Measure 1 in North Dakota. This measure to stop foreign money, create an ethics commission and reform lobbying and money in politics trailed most of the night but a late surge pulled our YES vote to a 54% to 46% lead with almost all precincts reporting. For those who thought Republicans would not support political money reforms, consider that this apparent solid win occurred at the same time that the Democratic incumbent US Senator was defeated with only 45% of the vote. Clearly many voted for a Republican challenger and for campaign finance reform.MICHIGAN GERRYMANDERING REFORM 61%-39% WIN. Our biggest investment came in the Michigan effort that included our opinion piece in the largest state newspaper, the Detroit Free Press, and reaching hundreds of thousands of state residents through Facebook ads. With more than 2/3rds of the votes counted, we are winning 61% - 39%. While Democrats appear to be carrying all the statewide races today, the US Senate incumbent came in far below her polling, at below 52% so far, meaning many Republicans are voting for her opponent and for gerrymandering reform. Our budget in this effort reach hundreds of thousands of state residents to get the measure on the ballot. One of the criticisms of nonpartisan redistricting commissions by some conservatives is that liberal bureaucrats take over these spots and gerrymander for the left. This measure addressed that concern by letting both the Senate Majority and Minority leader have veto power over any member of the commission, just like a both the prosecutor and defense lawyer can veto any potential juror. We believe this great victory at the ballot box to follow-up on a ballot win earlier this year in Ohio shows that most across the spectrum wants gerrymandering reform.For some who believe these are only "Democratic" or "liberal" issues, consider that calculations from Nate Silver were very accurate in the House, and he calculated that the huge campaign money advantage enjoyed by Democrats gave them an extra five Congressional seats over what they would have had if money were even. Most of the huge donors are Democrats, and since George Soros wrote an $18 billion non-profit check, any conservative being told they should oppose reform because Republicans have some huge advantage if they allow non-profit and other dark money into campaigns is likely being sold a bill of goods from a member of the political-industrial complex who is making money off the system.But, will the next Congress set aside politics to work on the cross partisan efforts in these areas that unite a significant majority of Americans?Today, Americans from around the country voted for the candidates they thought would be most likely to return power to the people, and they supported measures aimed at reforming the process. With 365 days until the 2020 campaign takes over the political landscape, stand with Take Back Our Republic by making a generous gift at takeback.org today as we seek to drive the reform conversation in 2019!Below are some of our winning political ads for our victories in North Dakota and Michigan.Despite the victories and a (possible?) temporary hiatus from/reduction in the intense partisan climate that characterizes our government, there is still much work to be done. Seventy-three (73) Democrats and only 17 Republicans raised at least $2 million by 20 days before the election- showing that the pervasive influence of big money continues to reign supreme.This message was intended for: susanogden1@mac.com
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Thursday, November 8, 2018
Saturday, November 3, 2018
Super PACs targeted in Alaska suit
https://citizentruth.org/citizens-united-targeted-alaska-equal-citizens-lawsuit/
In Alaska, a lawsuit seeks to overturn the federal Super PAC regime, which is based on a lower-court ruling rather than the U. S. Supreme Court. The plaintiffs seek to enforce Alaska’s existing laws, e.g., contribution limits.
“Equal Citizens says the lower court’s ruling to allow unlimited donations to PACs was based on too broad of an interpretation of Citizens United.”
Charlie Cooper
H: 410-578-8291
M: 410-624-6095
Get Money Out – Maryland (GMOM) 
“We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.” – Louis Brandeis
How to investigate out-of-state influence
“Already people, PACs, corporations and unions have contributed more than $173 million in out-of-state money to gubernatorial, state house and state senate candidates.And that’s just money sent directly to candidates. It does not include hundreds of millions more spent by outside groups on things like television advertising to support or oppose candidates.”
This article explains how to use a database to investigate out-of-state influence in state elections.
Charlie Cooper
H: 410-578-8291
M: 410-624-6095
Get Money Out – Maryland (GMOM) 
“We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.” – Louis Brandeis