Lucas,Come 2011, we know what the agenda of Republicans and corporate-backed Democrats will be:
- Roll back vital health and safety protections.
- Authorize more poisoning of the air, water and land in the name of profits and still more profits.
- Remove the modest controls just imposed on Wall Street.
- Allow corporations to continue spending unlimited amounts of money to influence elections, without even disclosing their expenditures to the public.
My program directors need $150,000 by the end of the year to launch our campaign against the special interests in the incoming Congress. I'm asking you to stand with Public Citizen by contributing $10, $20, $35 or whatever you can today.
Your support will ensure that the values for which we've fought--democracy, corporate accountability and consumer safety--trump the greed, negligence and corruption rampant among the corporate class.
Public Citizen--that's our staff, and also activists and supporters like you--has a very full plate for 2011. We need to be operating at full speed when Congress convenes in January.
That's why I need you to make a contribution--right now--to support our shared work.
Together, we're going to defend health and safety rules from a corporate campaign to sabotage life-saving consumer and environmental protections.
Together, we're going to deepen our democracy, and combat the corrosive effect of corporate money in politics.
Together, we're going to replace NAFTA-style trade deals that send American jobs overseas and push for new trade policies that prioritize the interests of everyday people over those of multinational corporations.
We are not going to let giant corporations and their political proxies tear down what is best about our country.
Together, we are going to make America stronger and more just.
2011 will be a challenging year. But leading an organized citizenry is where Public Citizen excels.
My goal is to raise at least $150,000 by the end of the year to provide the seed money for all the initiatives described below. Your contribution of $10, $20 or $35 will be a big help in reaching this goal.
Thank you for standing with Public Citizen for justice and democracy.
Robert Weissman, President
P.S. Remember, make a generous contribution today and get a free DVD!
PUBLIC CITIZEN'S 2011 PRIORITIES FOR AMERICA Rescuing Our Democracy
January 21 marks the first anniversary of the catastrophic Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC. The unprecedented corporate spending that drowned out so many progressive voices in the 2010 midterm election puts to rest any doubts about the destructive nature of this ruling. We're going to expand our campaign for a constitutional amendment while working to pass short-term legislative solutions like requiring full disclosure of all campaign contributions.
Strengthening Health, Safety and Other Public Protections
Big Business, led by lobbyists at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, has announced a massive campaign to roll back existing rules that protect public health and clean air and control big banks and health insurers. They claim--I kid you not--that this is the surefire way to jump-start the economy. (Never mind that it was the lack of regulation of Wall Street that crashed the economy and cost 8 million jobs.) Public Citizen will be leading the fight to block any attempt to weaken the rules that hold corporations accountable, save lives, protect the environment and create jobs.
Challenging Corporate Globalization
President Obama's recent trade agreement with South Korea is a continuation of the NAFTA-style morass that Candidate Obama campaigned against. These misbegotten trade deals are good for corporations. They are not good for American workers, the American economy, labor rights or the health of our planet. We have broad support in Congress for alternative trade policies and will be mobilizing aggressively at the grassroots to stop NAFTA-style trade pacts.
Reforming Wall Street is not a done deal. We still need to break up "too big to fail" banks, follow through on the establishment of the Consumer Financial Protect Bureau, and bring excessive compensation packages for Wall Street executives and top traders into the world the rest of us live in. And we'll be vigilant in preventing the Republicans from walking us back even one step from the reforms we fought so hard for over the past year.
Moving To a Clean Energy Future
Big Oil and King Coal were among the leading contributors this year to congressional candidates. Now they expect to cash in on their investments. Breaking the grip of these powerful corporations won't be easy, but we're going to fight for state and federal rules mandating stepped up investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy. We will also be working to build grassroots and congressional support for legislation that will reduce carbon emissions and make polluters pay. If we needed a wake-up call for a clean energy revolution, the BP disaster was it.