Voter Owned Elections Event A Big Success

Mike McCabe, Director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign (wisdc@wisdc.org), spoke to over fifty Unity members and guests on Sunday, January 7, 2007. Mike’s “spell binding and most entertaining” presentation on the need for campaign and election reform held everyone’s rapt interest and attention. The extent of this interest was seen in the need for the moderator, Deenah Givens, to not once but three times, remind the audience that “we had run out of time for questions this morning,” and the number that stayed afterwards to talk with Mike further face to face.

Mike sketched the history of funding elections in the United States and those attending discovered that such gross corruption of the campaign process that is now taking place in Wisconsin is nothing new but is very similar to what happened during the turn of the twentieth century. Then it took our own United States Senator, Robert La Follette, to fight for the squeaky clean government that Wisconsin enjoyed right up to only about two decades ago. Then as now, the corporate elite, bought off legislators by paying for their political campaign expenses, and thus assuring that their own private interests would prevail. Those attending expressed both surprise and indignation at what is now called the “pay to play” arrangements that now exists our State legislature.

Mike also explained that along with cleaning up our election process, the citizens of Wisconsin also need to fight for election ethics reform, and against the corrupt practice of redistricting political divisions to assure the political allegiance of the voters. Perhaps though the thing that attendees found most fascinating was to learn that by paying only five to ten dollars per year when declaring your taxes, they could save nearly thirteen hundred dollars that is now spent by your legislator each year in special tax breaks, grants and other favors to the corporate elite.

Attendees were reminded that “citizen owned elections” is a special project of Unity’s Social Justice Council and that members who wish to get involved can contact any member of the Council or read the Council’s weekly green news bulletin. Members who would like to learn more about this particular project will find the Council’s Project Plan on Campaign Finance Reform on the Unity Website. Members were also asked to volunteer to serve on the special project committee as well. All were also encouraged to sign up for the special seven week Lenten Season study and meditation program which will consider the role of spirituality and being engaged in the political process. Please also note that the special video on campaign finance reform can be checked out through the Unity office.

For more information please contact the Council’s project liaison, Bill Benedict at 249-5672 or at bergentown@sbcglobal.net.