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NEW YORK - Environmentalists say they are running out of patience with what they see as the snail's pace of climate change legislation moving through the U.S. Congress.The weekend saw thousands of people taking to the streets, parks and beaches in towns and cities across the United States, amidst calls for Congress to pass a law that would require 80 percent cuts in climate-changing carbon emissions by 2050.
NEW YORK - Environmentalists say they are running out of patience with what they see as the snail's pace of climate change legislation moving through the U.S. Congress.The weekend saw thousands of people taking to the streets, parks and beaches in towns and cities across the United States, amidst calls for Congress to pass a law that would require 80 percent cuts in climate-changing carbon emissions by 2050.
Saturday's rallies and actions, held in all 50 states, were part of the nationwide "Step It Up 2007" campaign by scores of grassroots organisations.
Organisers of the campaign who declared Apr. 14 as the "National Day of Climate Action" said they were pleased that people from all walks of life, including students, peace activists, and religious leaders, participated in more than 1,400 actions nationwide.
"This is a wake-up call to legislators," said one of the campaign leaders, Bill McKibben, environmentalist and author of several books and articles on climate change.
From the east coast to the western shores, demonstrators gathered at hundreds of iconic locations that are considered vulnerable to the devastating effects of global warming.
"My older daughter organised a group of kids from her school to join us. My younger one has helped to make signs," said Nancy Kricorian of CODEPINK, a women's peace organisation, who took part in the downtown New York rally.
Kricorian and other organisers said they chose downtown for protest because it is widely feared that it will become the new tide line if the sea level rises a few feet as a result of global warming.
In explaining why she got involved in the campaign, Kricorian said that as a mother of daughters aged 10 and 14 she could see their generation is genuinely concerned about climate change.
According to Kricorian, two weeks ago when the weather in New York hit an unseasonably warm 21 degrees Celsius, "my 14-year-old who had seen 'An Inconvenient Truth' (the award-winning documentary on climate change) with her class last spring, looked at me dolefully, and said, 'The Polar bears are drowning.'"
The weekend's protests took place at a time when the U.S. Congress is already engaged in discussions over several legislative bills dealing with climate change and its impacts.
Currently, there are five bills awaiting congressional action. Though they have plenty in common, they do reflect significant differences in terms of practical approaches and the varying levels of stringency of greenhouse gas emissions caps.
Observers say differences in regulatory approaches are likely to have deep impact on the cost of programmes to cut emissions and the distribution of those costs across households and businesses.
The 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change requires the adherent industrialised countries to reduce emissions by 2012 to an average of five percent below 1990 levels.
Although the United States is responsible for at least 25 percent of total carbon emissions in the world, it has no obligation to meet that requirement, because it is not a signatory to the treaty.
In 2001, the George W. Bush administration rejected the Kyoto Protocol, arguing that achieving such cuts in emissions would harm the U.S. economy. The United States instead demanded reductions from poor but fast-growing economies like India and China.
Over the years, the Bush administration has continued to assert that more research is needed into the science of climate change.
Contrary to the administration's position, international scientists continue to warn that climate change is indeed a real threat and have called for urgent action.
UN experts, releasing a major report in Brussels this month about climate change impacts, said billions of people could face shortages of food and water and increased risk of flooding.
"It's the poorest of the poor in the world, and this includes poor people even in prosperous societies, who are going to be the worst hit," said Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
In addition to the UN research, a study released by the U.S. Navy last week concluded that the consequences of global warming could pose a threat to U.S. national security.
"Unlike the problems that we are used to dealing with, these will come upon us extremely slowly, but come they will, and they will be grinding and inexorable," Richard J. Truly, a retired vice admiral and former administrator at NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), said in the report.
The effects of global warming, according to the study, could lead to large-scale migrations, increased border tensions, the spread of disease and conflicts over food and water. All could lead to direct involvement by the U.S. military.
Considering the fact that the United States continues to be the world's largest emitter of carbon gases, the protesters urged Congress to adopt immediate and effective legislation on climate change.
"We are the poster child for carbon in the atmosphere," said McKibben. "If we get our own house in order, then we can rejoin the rest of the world in dealing with this problem."
With full backing from major environmental groups and support from some leading lawmakers, the campaigners are now planning to hold another nationwide protest in August this year.
Observers say the momentum of the campaign is likely to grow further in the next few weeks -- and so will the pace of discussions in the Senate.
In addition to the "Step It Up," campaign, activists around the globe have also planned worldwide events to increase awareness about climate change.
Organisers of the "Live Earth" concerts, for example, said this week they planned to hold the final performance in the United States in July this year.
"Capping Live Earth with a blockbuster show like this will ensure we meet our challenge of building a mass audience to combat global warming," said Live Earth founder Kevin Wall, describing Live Earth as a "monumental event both in terms of entertainment and in turning the tide against global warming.
The global concert on climate change will start in Sydney on Jul. 7 and will continue across the continents, concluding with the U.S. show.
"We hope the energy created by Live Earth will jump-start a massive public education effort," said Live Earth co-chair and former U.S. vice president Al Gore.
"It will help us reach a tipping point that's needed to move corporations and governments to take decisive action to solve the climate crisis," he added in a statement.
Copyright (c) 2007 IPS-Inter Press Service.
Political revenge. Mass deportations. Project 2025. Unfathomable corruption. Attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Pardons for insurrectionists. An all-out assault on democracy. Republicans in Congress are scrambling to give Trump broad new powers to strip the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit he doesn’t like by declaring it a “terrorist-supporting organization.” Trump has already begun filing lawsuits against news outlets that criticize him. At Common Dreams, we won’t back down, but we must get ready for whatever Trump and his thugs throw at us. Our Year-End campaign is our most important fundraiser of the year. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. By donating today, please help us fight the dangers of a second Trump presidency. |
NEW YORK - Environmentalists say they are running out of patience with what they see as the snail's pace of climate change legislation moving through the U.S. Congress.The weekend saw thousands of people taking to the streets, parks and beaches in towns and cities across the United States, amidst calls for Congress to pass a law that would require 80 percent cuts in climate-changing carbon emissions by 2050.
Saturday's rallies and actions, held in all 50 states, were part of the nationwide "Step It Up 2007" campaign by scores of grassroots organisations.
Organisers of the campaign who declared Apr. 14 as the "National Day of Climate Action" said they were pleased that people from all walks of life, including students, peace activists, and religious leaders, participated in more than 1,400 actions nationwide.
"This is a wake-up call to legislators," said one of the campaign leaders, Bill McKibben, environmentalist and author of several books and articles on climate change.
From the east coast to the western shores, demonstrators gathered at hundreds of iconic locations that are considered vulnerable to the devastating effects of global warming.
"My older daughter organised a group of kids from her school to join us. My younger one has helped to make signs," said Nancy Kricorian of CODEPINK, a women's peace organisation, who took part in the downtown New York rally.
Kricorian and other organisers said they chose downtown for protest because it is widely feared that it will become the new tide line if the sea level rises a few feet as a result of global warming.
In explaining why she got involved in the campaign, Kricorian said that as a mother of daughters aged 10 and 14 she could see their generation is genuinely concerned about climate change.
According to Kricorian, two weeks ago when the weather in New York hit an unseasonably warm 21 degrees Celsius, "my 14-year-old who had seen 'An Inconvenient Truth' (the award-winning documentary on climate change) with her class last spring, looked at me dolefully, and said, 'The Polar bears are drowning.'"
The weekend's protests took place at a time when the U.S. Congress is already engaged in discussions over several legislative bills dealing with climate change and its impacts.
Currently, there are five bills awaiting congressional action. Though they have plenty in common, they do reflect significant differences in terms of practical approaches and the varying levels of stringency of greenhouse gas emissions caps.
Observers say differences in regulatory approaches are likely to have deep impact on the cost of programmes to cut emissions and the distribution of those costs across households and businesses.
The 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change requires the adherent industrialised countries to reduce emissions by 2012 to an average of five percent below 1990 levels.
Although the United States is responsible for at least 25 percent of total carbon emissions in the world, it has no obligation to meet that requirement, because it is not a signatory to the treaty.
In 2001, the George W. Bush administration rejected the Kyoto Protocol, arguing that achieving such cuts in emissions would harm the U.S. economy. The United States instead demanded reductions from poor but fast-growing economies like India and China.
Over the years, the Bush administration has continued to assert that more research is needed into the science of climate change.
Contrary to the administration's position, international scientists continue to warn that climate change is indeed a real threat and have called for urgent action.
UN experts, releasing a major report in Brussels this month about climate change impacts, said billions of people could face shortages of food and water and increased risk of flooding.
"It's the poorest of the poor in the world, and this includes poor people even in prosperous societies, who are going to be the worst hit," said Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
In addition to the UN research, a study released by the U.S. Navy last week concluded that the consequences of global warming could pose a threat to U.S. national security.
"Unlike the problems that we are used to dealing with, these will come upon us extremely slowly, but come they will, and they will be grinding and inexorable," Richard J. Truly, a retired vice admiral and former administrator at NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), said in the report.
The effects of global warming, according to the study, could lead to large-scale migrations, increased border tensions, the spread of disease and conflicts over food and water. All could lead to direct involvement by the U.S. military.
Considering the fact that the United States continues to be the world's largest emitter of carbon gases, the protesters urged Congress to adopt immediate and effective legislation on climate change.
"We are the poster child for carbon in the atmosphere," said McKibben. "If we get our own house in order, then we can rejoin the rest of the world in dealing with this problem."
With full backing from major environmental groups and support from some leading lawmakers, the campaigners are now planning to hold another nationwide protest in August this year.
Observers say the momentum of the campaign is likely to grow further in the next few weeks -- and so will the pace of discussions in the Senate.
In addition to the "Step It Up," campaign, activists around the globe have also planned worldwide events to increase awareness about climate change.
Organisers of the "Live Earth" concerts, for example, said this week they planned to hold the final performance in the United States in July this year.
"Capping Live Earth with a blockbuster show like this will ensure we meet our challenge of building a mass audience to combat global warming," said Live Earth founder Kevin Wall, describing Live Earth as a "monumental event both in terms of entertainment and in turning the tide against global warming.
The global concert on climate change will start in Sydney on Jul. 7 and will continue across the continents, concluding with the U.S. show.
"We hope the energy created by Live Earth will jump-start a massive public education effort," said Live Earth co-chair and former U.S. vice president Al Gore.
"It will help us reach a tipping point that's needed to move corporations and governments to take decisive action to solve the climate crisis," he added in a statement.
Copyright (c) 2007 IPS-Inter Press Service.
NEW YORK - Environmentalists say they are running out of patience with what they see as the snail's pace of climate change legislation moving through the U.S. Congress.The weekend saw thousands of people taking to the streets, parks and beaches in towns and cities across the United States, amidst calls for Congress to pass a law that would require 80 percent cuts in climate-changing carbon emissions by 2050.
Saturday's rallies and actions, held in all 50 states, were part of the nationwide "Step It Up 2007" campaign by scores of grassroots organisations.
Organisers of the campaign who declared Apr. 14 as the "National Day of Climate Action" said they were pleased that people from all walks of life, including students, peace activists, and religious leaders, participated in more than 1,400 actions nationwide.
"This is a wake-up call to legislators," said one of the campaign leaders, Bill McKibben, environmentalist and author of several books and articles on climate change.
From the east coast to the western shores, demonstrators gathered at hundreds of iconic locations that are considered vulnerable to the devastating effects of global warming.
"My older daughter organised a group of kids from her school to join us. My younger one has helped to make signs," said Nancy Kricorian of CODEPINK, a women's peace organisation, who took part in the downtown New York rally.
Kricorian and other organisers said they chose downtown for protest because it is widely feared that it will become the new tide line if the sea level rises a few feet as a result of global warming.
In explaining why she got involved in the campaign, Kricorian said that as a mother of daughters aged 10 and 14 she could see their generation is genuinely concerned about climate change.
According to Kricorian, two weeks ago when the weather in New York hit an unseasonably warm 21 degrees Celsius, "my 14-year-old who had seen 'An Inconvenient Truth' (the award-winning documentary on climate change) with her class last spring, looked at me dolefully, and said, 'The Polar bears are drowning.'"
The weekend's protests took place at a time when the U.S. Congress is already engaged in discussions over several legislative bills dealing with climate change and its impacts.
Currently, there are five bills awaiting congressional action. Though they have plenty in common, they do reflect significant differences in terms of practical approaches and the varying levels of stringency of greenhouse gas emissions caps.
Observers say differences in regulatory approaches are likely to have deep impact on the cost of programmes to cut emissions and the distribution of those costs across households and businesses.
The 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change requires the adherent industrialised countries to reduce emissions by 2012 to an average of five percent below 1990 levels.
Although the United States is responsible for at least 25 percent of total carbon emissions in the world, it has no obligation to meet that requirement, because it is not a signatory to the treaty.
In 2001, the George W. Bush administration rejected the Kyoto Protocol, arguing that achieving such cuts in emissions would harm the U.S. economy. The United States instead demanded reductions from poor but fast-growing economies like India and China.
Over the years, the Bush administration has continued to assert that more research is needed into the science of climate change.
Contrary to the administration's position, international scientists continue to warn that climate change is indeed a real threat and have called for urgent action.
UN experts, releasing a major report in Brussels this month about climate change impacts, said billions of people could face shortages of food and water and increased risk of flooding.
"It's the poorest of the poor in the world, and this includes poor people even in prosperous societies, who are going to be the worst hit," said Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
In addition to the UN research, a study released by the U.S. Navy last week concluded that the consequences of global warming could pose a threat to U.S. national security.
"Unlike the problems that we are used to dealing with, these will come upon us extremely slowly, but come they will, and they will be grinding and inexorable," Richard J. Truly, a retired vice admiral and former administrator at NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), said in the report.
The effects of global warming, according to the study, could lead to large-scale migrations, increased border tensions, the spread of disease and conflicts over food and water. All could lead to direct involvement by the U.S. military.
Considering the fact that the United States continues to be the world's largest emitter of carbon gases, the protesters urged Congress to adopt immediate and effective legislation on climate change.
"We are the poster child for carbon in the atmosphere," said McKibben. "If we get our own house in order, then we can rejoin the rest of the world in dealing with this problem."
With full backing from major environmental groups and support from some leading lawmakers, the campaigners are now planning to hold another nationwide protest in August this year.
Observers say the momentum of the campaign is likely to grow further in the next few weeks -- and so will the pace of discussions in the Senate.
In addition to the "Step It Up," campaign, activists around the globe have also planned worldwide events to increase awareness about climate change.
Organisers of the "Live Earth" concerts, for example, said this week they planned to hold the final performance in the United States in July this year.
"Capping Live Earth with a blockbuster show like this will ensure we meet our challenge of building a mass audience to combat global warming," said Live Earth founder Kevin Wall, describing Live Earth as a "monumental event both in terms of entertainment and in turning the tide against global warming.
The global concert on climate change will start in Sydney on Jul. 7 and will continue across the continents, concluding with the U.S. show.
"We hope the energy created by Live Earth will jump-start a massive public education effort," said Live Earth co-chair and former U.S. vice president Al Gore.
"It will help us reach a tipping point that's needed to move corporations and governments to take decisive action to solve the climate crisis," he added in a statement.
Copyright (c) 2007 IPS-Inter Press Service.
The study was published as President Donald Trump was blasted for an executive order that one critic said shows he wants to turn the Alaskan Arctic into the "the world's largest gas station."
For thousands of years, the land areas of the Arctic have served as a "carbon sink," storing potential carbon emissions in the permafrost. But according to a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change Tuesday, more than 34% of the Arctic is now a source of carbon to the atmosphere, as permafrost melts and the Arctic becomes greener.
"When emissions from fire were added, the percentage grew to 40%," according to the Woodwell Climate Research Center, which led the international team that conducted the research.
The study, which was first reported on by The Guardian, was released the day after President Donald Trump issued multiple presidential actions influencing the United States' ability to confront the climate crisis, which is primarily caused by fossil fuel emissions, including one directly impacting resource extraction in Alaska, a section of which is within the Arctic Circle.
Sue Natali, one of the researchers who worked on the study published in Nature Climate Change, told NPR in December (in reference to similar research) that the Arctic's warming "is not an issue of what party you support."
"This is something that impacts everyone," she said.
As the permafrost—ground that remains frozen for two or more years—holds less carbon, it releases CO2 into the atmosphere that could "considerably exacerbate climate change," according to the study.
"There is a load of carbon in the Arctic soils. It's close to half of the Earth's soil carbon pool. That's much more than there is in the atmosphere. There's a huge potential reservoir that should ideally stay in the ground," said Anna Virkkala, the lead author of the study, in an interview with The Guardian.
The dire warning was released on the heels of Trump's executive order titled "Unleashing the Alaska's Extraordinary Resource Potential" that calls for expedited "permitting and leasing of energy and natural resource projects in Alaska," as well as for the prioritization of "development of Alaska's liquefied natural gas (LNG) potential, including the sale and transportation of Alaskan LNG to other regions of the United States and allied nations within the Pacific region."
The order also rolls back a number of Biden-era restrictions on drilling and extraction in Alaska, which included protecting areas within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil and gas leasing.
"Alaska is warming four times faster than the rest of the planet, a trend that is wreaking havoc on communities, ecosystems, fish, wildlife, and ways of life that depend on healthy lands and waters," said Carole Holley, managing attorney for the Alaska Office of the environmental group Earthjustice, in a statement Monday.
"Earthjustice and its clients will not stand idly by while Trump once again forces a harmful industry-driven agenda on our state for political gain and the benefit of a wealthy few," she added.
Trump wants to turn the Alaskan Arctic into the "the world's largest gas station," said Athan Manuel, director of Sierra Club's Lands Protection Program, in a statement Monday. "Make no mistake, Trump's rushed and sloppy actions today are an existential threat to these lands and waters, and the communities and wildlife that depend on them."
The U.N. ambassador nominee also shrugged off the Nazi salutes made by Elon Musk on Inauguration Day.
As U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik faced questioning by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday regarding her nomination for a top diplomatic position, the rights group Jewish Voice for Peace Action called on lawmakers to consider her "record of antisemitic, anti-Palestinian, anti-immigrant, and anti-democracy rhetoric and policy" and block her confirmation.
Stefanik's (R-N.Y.) record was reinforced at the hearing as she was asked about her views on Palestine, expressions of antisemitism in the United States, and far-right Israeli leaders' political agenda, with Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) recalling a meeting he had with the congresswoman after President Donald Trump nominated her to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
At the meeting, Van Hollen said, Stefanik had expressed support for the idea that Israel has a Biblical right to control the entire West Bank—a position that is held by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and former National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, but runs counter to the two-state solution that the U.S. government has long supported.
"Is that your view today?" asked Van Hollen, to which Stefanik replied, "Yes."
Van Hollen noted that Stefanik's viewpoint also flies in the face of numerous U.N. Security Council resolutions and international consensus about the Middle East conflict.
"If the president is going to succeed at bringing peace and stability to the Middle East, we're going to have to look at the U.N. Security Council resolutions," said the senator. "And it's going to be very difficult to achieve that if you continue to hold the view that you just expressed, which is a view that was not held by the founders of the state of Israel."
Stefanik also refused to answer a direct question from Van Hollen regarding whether Palestinian people have the right to self-determination, saying only that she supports "human rights for all" and pivoting to a call for Israeli hostages to be released by Hamas.
Jenin Younes, litigation counsel with the New Civil Liberties Alliance, said Stefanik expressed "religious fanaticism, pure and simple" at the confirmation hearing—which was held as Israeli settlers and soldiers ramped up attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.
"That [Stefanik] will now play a major role with respect to our foreign policy in the region is terrifying," said Younes.
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Action noted that in addition to supporting "the Israeli government's brutal genocide of Palestinians," Stefanik has also "amplified the antisemitic Great Replacement theory"—which claims the influence and power of white Christian Americans is being deliberately diminished by Jewish Americans and immigration policy.
Despite her support for the debunked conspiracy theory, Stefanik made headlines last year for her accusations against college students, faculty, and administrators over the pro-Palestinian demonstrations that exploded across campuses as Americans spoke out against Israel's U.S.-backed assault on Gaza. The congresswoman said the protests were expressions of antisemitism and pushed for the resignation of university leaders who declined to discipline students who spoke out against Israel.
The hearings where Stefanik lambasted college leaders "were part of a broader campaign to silence anti-war activism and dissent on college campuses while forwarding the MAGA culture war campaign against [diversity, equity, and inclusion], critical race theory, and LGBTQ+ rights," said JVP Action.
An exchange between Stefanik and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Tuesday also raised questions over Stefanik's views on antisemitism. Murphy asked the nominee about the Nazi salute twice displayed by billionaire Trump backer Elon Musk—whom the president has named to lead his proposed Department of Government Efficiency—at an event Monday night.
" Elon Musk did not do those salutes," Stefanik asserted.
Murphy countered by reading several comments from right-wing commentators who applauded Musk's "Heil Hitler" salute.
"Over and over again last night, white supremacist groups and neo-Nazi groups in this country rallied around that visual," said Murphy.
JVP Action said Stefanik has "deeply embraced Trump's anti-democratic agenda."
"Her nomination must be blocked," said the group.
"As long as Citizens United remains the law of the land, our democracy will remain broken," said one campaigner.
As President Donald Trump triumphantly returned to the White House thanks in part to a tsunami of campaign cash from oligarchs and corporate interests, democracy defenders on Tuesday marked the 15th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that unleashed such spending by urging action to overturn the decision.
In a nation where corporations and moneyed interests already wielded disproportionate power and influence over elections, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission reversed campaign finance restrictions dating back to the era of Gilded Age robber barons. The ruling affirmed that political spending by corporations, nonprofit organizations, labor unions, and other groups is a form of free speech protected by the 1st Amendment that government cannot restrict. The decision ushered in the era of super PACs—which can raise unlimited amounts of money to spend on campaigns—and secret spending on elections with so-called "dark money."
In his Citizens United dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens asserted that "in a functioning democracy the public must have faith that its representatives owe their positions to the people, not to the corporations with the deepest pockets," and warned that the ruling "will undoubtedly cripple the ability of ordinary citizens, Congress, and the states to adopt even limited measures to protect against corporate domination of the electoral process."
"Over the last 15 years, the American people have watched with disgust as both parties welcomed the unfettered sale of our democracy and elections to the highest bidders."
Since then, nearly $20 billion has been spent on U.S. presidential elections and more than $53 billion on congressional races, according to data compiled by OpenSecrets. Spending on 2024 congressional races was double 2010 levels, while presidential campaign contributions were more than 50% higher in 2024 than in 2008, the last election before Citizens United.
Ultrawealthy megadonors played a critical role in Trump's 2024 victory. Some of them have been rewarded with Cabinet nominations and key appointments in "an administration dominated by billionaires and corporate interests," as Americans for Tax Fairness executive director David Kass described it.
"Fifteen years ago today, the Supreme Court gave billionaires and special interests unprecedented power to rig our democracy with its disastrous Citizens United decision. Yesterday, Donald Trump was sworn in, ushering in the wealthiest administration in American history," Tiffany Muller, president of the advocacy group End Citizens United, said on social media Tuesday. "Citizens United paved the way for Trump II."
Alexandra Rojas, executive director of the progressive political action committee Justice Democrats, said in a statement that "over the last 15 years, the American people have watched with disgust as both parties welcomed the unfettered sale of our democracy and elections to the highest bidders."
"Citizens United legalized economic inequality as a political tool for the wealthy to exploit," Rojas added. "A decade-and-a-half later, working-class people cannot afford to run for office and everyday voters' voices are drowned out by billionaire-funded super PACs. As long as Citizens United remains the law of the land, our democracy will remain broken."
Justice Democrats noted: "Yesterday, Donald Trump was inaugurated as president in what was maybe one of the most openly corporate-sponsored inaugurations in American history. In just one row seated in front of Trump's Cabinet members, four men had the combined wealth of just under $1 trillion."
"Billionaires and corporations are paying their way to gain influence in the Trump administration and they can expect a massive return on their investment, at the expense of everyday people," the group added.
It's no surprise, say critics, that corporate profits and plutocrat wealth have soared to new heights during the Citizens United era.
"Citizens United allowed corporations to buy candidates and elections. Citizens United legalized political bribery. Citizens United let wealth dominate our elections," the consumer watchdog Public Citizen said Tuesday. "Overturn Citizens United."
Positing that "Citizens United turned our democracy into an auction," Congressman Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) wrote on social media Tuesday that "our government is supposed to be of the people, by the people, and for the people—not corporations and billionaire elites. We must #EndCitizensUnited and put the American people back in charge."
Democratic lawmakers have introduced numerous bills, including proposed constitutional amendments, to reverse Citizens United. While Congress has not been able or willing to address the issue, 22 states and the District of Columbia, as well as more than 800 local governments across the country, have passed measures calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn the ruling, according to Public Citizen.
"This is a moment to
usher in a new era in the Democratic Party that rejects the growing oligarchy in this country by rejecting the unprecedented level of billionaire and corporate spending that has a stranglehold over both parties," Justice Democrats said on Tuesday. "Now is the moment to tirelessly center working people and expose the big money corruption that Citizens United has brought onto both parties. By rejecting their influence, working-class people may finally have the promise of a party that actually serves them."