Speakers: Karen Lieberman and Bruce Nissen
Meeting of SW Fla group for Separation of State and Religion
When: Was March 29 – Now Postponed
Where: (Charlotte County Democratic Club)
3596 Tamiami Trail #102, Sunnydell Plaza
Port Charlotte FL]
The now-infamous Supreme Court decision Citizens United in 2010 allows “dark money” in unlimited amounts to undermine the democratic nature of the U.S. electoral system. It has come close to turning the country into a strict oligarchy, meaning rule by the rich who buy control of the system.
Watch Video here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x1w05_cu7A
We will briefly underline the facts of how Citizens United impacts our system and then discuss a measure in St. Petersburg that overturns most of its effects in local elections. The St. Petersburg Defend our Democracy ordinance, passed in Oct 2017, is carefully crafted to nullify much of Citizen United’s harm, and could probably pass muster even today with the current conservative Supreme Court.
We will share an 11-minute video showcasing the 2014-2017 organizing movement to win this ordinance, as well as discuss the strategy we used to win. We will also show how other localities throughout the U.S. are beginning to use our ordinance to win similar measures in their areas.