Statement by Common Cause President Miles Rapoport on Today’s Vote on the Democracy for All Amendment, S.J. Res 19.

    Media Contact
  • Dale Eisman

Opponents of the Democracy for All Amendment have spent the past three days arguing that the amendment is a dangerous attack on the First Amendment. Their votes today expose them as the real opponents of free speech, maintaining a system that lets a few wealthy Americans drown out the voices of millions of their fellow citizens.

Still, today’s vote is a critical and positive step on the long march toward sensible limits on political spending. While we’re disappointed that the amendment didn’t get the 60 votes needed to move it to final passage in the Senate, we’re pleased that a majority of senators are now on record rejecting the Supreme Court’s assertion that money is speech.  They have said that big ideas, not big money, should rule in the public square.

Much, much more remains to be done to secure the two-thirds majority in Congress that would send the amendment to the states for ratification. That work starts with a full debate and vote on the amendment in the House of Representatives. We call on Speaker John Boehner to schedule action on the amendment before the House adjourns for the November election; voters should know where their representatives stand on this proposal before they choose the membership of the next Congress.