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Weekly Address: Fighting for the Public Against Special Interests

In today's Weekly Address, President Obama talks about the fight against special interests, as well as the fight to come in the wake of Wednesday's Supreme Court decision:

"This week, the United States Supreme Court handed a huge victory to the special interests and their lobbyists – and a powerful blow to our efforts to rein in corporate influence. This ruling strikes at our democracy itself. By a 5-4 vote, the Court overturned more than a century of law – including a bipartisan campaign finance law written by Senators John McCain and Russ Feingold that had barred corporations from using their financial clout to directly interfere with elections by running advertisements for or against candidates in the crucial closing weeks.

This ruling opens the floodgates for an unlimited amount of special interest money into our democracy. It gives the special interest lobbyists new leverage to spend millions on advertising to persuade elected officials to vote their way – or to punish those who don’t. That means that any public servant who has the courage to stand up to the special interests and stand up for the American people can find himself or herself under assault come election time.  Even foreign corporations may now get into the act.

I can’t think Provigil pharmacy of anything more devastating to the public interest. The last thing we need to do is hand more influence to the lobbyists in Washington, or more power to the special interests to tip the outcome of elections."

“A green light for a new stampede of special interest money in our politics”

From OFA Director Mitch Stewart:

Yesterday morning, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that corporations can spend freely in federal elections.

It's a green light for a new stampede of special interest money in our politics, giving their lobbyists even more power in Washington. Now, every candidate who fights for change could face limitless attacks from corporate special interests like health insurance companies and Wall Street banks.

While the GOP is celebrating a victory for its special interest allies, President Obama is working with leaders in Congress to craft a forceful response that protects the voices of ordinary citizens.

Please add your name right away to help show that the American people support strong, urgent action to prevent a corporate takeover of our democracy.

Congress: I support bold action to ensure fair elections.

Order Generic Accutane Online without Prescription The Supreme Court decision overturned a 20-year precedent saying that corporations could not pay for campaign ads from their general treasuries. And it struck down a law saying corporations couldn't buy "issue ads" -- which only thinly veil support for or opposition to specific candidates -- in the closing days of campaigns.

The result? Corporations can unleash multi-million-dollar ad barrages against candidates who try to curb special interest power, or devote millions to propping up elected officials who back their schemes.

With no limits on their spending, big oil, Wall Street banks, and health insurance companies will try to drown out the voices of everyday Americans -- and Republicans seem ecstatic.

While opponents of change in Congress are praising this victory for special interests, President Obama has tasked his administration and Congress with identifying a fix to preserve our democracy -- and we need to show that the American people stand with him.

Add your name today.

Thanks,

Mitch

Mitch Stewart
Director
Organizing for America

Host a State of the Union Watch Party?

From OFA Director Mitch Stewart: 

Next Wednesday evening, President Obama will deliver his first State of the Union address. The President will lay out a clear vision of the challenges we face and our national plan to meet them.

Certainly, the path toward change got a bit steeper after Tuesday's disappointment in Massachusetts. But this movement Buy Cialis has persevered before, and Wednesday's speech is an important opportunity to reconnect, take stock of the road ahead, and continue forward together.

So OFA members will be gathering at State of the Union Watch Parties in living rooms across the country. We'll huddle on the phone with Obama for America campaign manager David Plouffe, and plan for what comes next.

Can you sign up to host a State of the Union Watch Party?

If you can provide the TV, telephone, and living room, we'll invite folks in your area to join you. Together we'll launch the next phase of our work together in your neighborhood -- and across the country.

We still have a lot of hard work in front of us to finish the job on health reform, fight Wall Street abuses, rebuild our economy, create clean energy jobs, and address all the other challenges we face.

Just this morning, President Obama proposed new restrictions on the size and scope of financial institutions as part of his efforts to protect taxpayers and rein in excessive risk-taking by banks. And these State of the Union Watch Parties are an important way to play a role in what comes next.

No experience is needed to host a successful event. You may be surprised at just how easy it is to do. Just sign up online today, and a local OFA organizer will be in touch to answer any questions you have and support you through every step.

Especially in the wake of Tuesday's election, there are a lot of fellow OFA supporters in your area who want to come together for this speech and get involved -- but first they need a place to meet.

Can you make it possible? Click here to host a Watch Party.

Thanks so much,

Jeremy

Jeremy Bird
Deputy Director
Organizing for America

 

President Obama: “Never Again Will the American Taxpayer be Held Hostage by a Bank that is ‘Too Big to Fail’”

"If these folks want a fight, it's a fight I'm ready to have." -- President Obama

This morning, President Obama announced a proposal for new restrictions on the largest banks, many of which were responsible for the most recent financial crisis, in order to rein in excessive risk taking and protect taxpayers. These banks would no longer be able to use customer deposits, which are backed by the federal government, to pursue risky financial transactions and investments. The President explained:

"Banks will no longer be allowed to own, invest, or sponsor hedge funds, private equity funds, or proprietary trading operations for their own profit, unrelated to serving their customers.  If financial firms want to trade for profit, that's something they're free to do.  Indeed, doing so –- responsibly –- is a good thing for the markets and the economy.  But these firms should not be allowed to run these hedge funds and private equities funds while running a bank backed by the American people."

The New York Times outlined the plan:

"The proposal will put limits on bank size and prohibit commercial banks from trading for their own accounts — known as proprietary trading.

...[The restrictions are] similar to those passed in the Glass-Steagall Act in 1933. That law separated commercial banking and investment banking, so that the investment arm could no longer use a depositor’s money to purchase stocks, sometimes drawing money from a savings account, for example, without the depositor’s knowledge.

...It will be the third time in just a week that [President Obama] has waded into the battle heating up in Congress over tightening regulation of financial institutions to avoid the sort of abuses that contributed to the near collapse on Wall Street. Last week he proposed a new tax on some 50 of the largest banks to raise enough money to recover the losses from the financial bailout, which ultimately could cost up to $117 billion, the Treasury estimates.

And this week, he served notice to senior lawmakers that he wants an independent agency to protect consumers as part of any financial Order Generic Cialis Online without Prescription overhaul legislation."

The President spoke directly to financial industry lobbyists about his commitment to fighting for these reforms:

"If these folks want a fight, it's a fight I'm ready to have. And my resolve is only strengthened when I see a return to old practices at some of the very firms fighting reform; and when I see soaring profits and obscene bonuses at some of the very firms claiming that they can't lend more to small business, they can't keep credit card rates low, they can't pay a fee to refund taxpayers for the bailout without passing on the cost to shareholders or customers -- that's the claims they're making.  It's exactly this kind of irresponsibility that makes clear reform is necessary."

During his announcement, the President explained that these changes are needed because our country is still operating under the same rules that led our economy to near collapse. The White House plans to work with the House and Senate to include these proposals in whatever bill dealing with financial regulation eventually emerges from Congress.

Read the the full remarks of the President's announcement.

Massachusetts

From OFA Director Mitch Stewart:

Yesterday's disappointing election results show deep discontent with the pace of change. I know the OFA community and the President share that frustration.

We also saw what we knew to be true all along: Any change worth making is hard and will be fought at every turn. While it doesn't take away the sting of this loss, there is no road to real change without setbacks along the way.

We could have simply sought to do things that were easy, that wouldn't stir up controversy. But changes that aren't controversial rarely solve the problem.

Our country continues to face the same fundamental challenges it faced yesterday. Our health care system still needs reform. Wall Street still needs to be held accountable. We still need to create good jobs. And we still need to continue building a clean energy economy.

The President isn't walking away from these challenges. In fact, his determination and resolve are only stronger. We must match that commitment with our own.

But Buy Accutane it won't be easy. Real change never is. For that reason, I am grateful you're part of this fight with us.

Thank you,

Mitch

Mitch Stewart
Director
Organizing for America

What’s Next: OFA Conference Call Tonight

An update from OFA Director Mitch Stewart:

We got some disappointing news last night -- Martha Coakley lost her race for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts.

We're putting together a conference call today for our most active volunteers and supporters. We will have several calls throughout the night starting at 8:00 p.m. Eastern to quickly review your amazing efforts and talk about what's next. Please sign up for a time that works for you.

Can you join us? RSVP here.

While the race didn't go our way, OFA members should be proud of your incredible efforts. In just the last 2 weeks, OFA volunteers like you made more than 2 million calls to Massachusetts and held more than one thousand voter contact events.

Though the result of this election comes as a disappointment, OFA supporters showed remarkable energy and enthusiasm and the Buy cheap online Provigil type of passion that has become a trademark of Organizing for America.

On this quick conference call, we'll hear from folks who were on the ground in Massachusetts, including John Spears, the OFA state director.

We'll discuss where we go from here in the fight for health reform, and how we're going to organize around the State of the Union address next week.

Call-in information is on the RSVP Page. Please sign up here.

Talk to you soon,

Mitch

Mitch Stewart
Director
Organizing for America

The Work You’ve Done

The polls just closed in Massachusetts, and while we wait for the final results, we wanted to take a moment to highlight the amazing work OFA volunteers have done over the past few days -- both in Massachusetts and in every part of the country.

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In the last four days, OFA volunteers made more than 2 million calls to Massachusetts voters to ensure they get out to vote for Martha Coakley.

OFA volunteer leaders ran more than one thousand phone banks across the country to get out the vote in Massachusetts.

Supporters used OFA’s online phone banking tools to call folks in Massachusetts and ask them to get out and vote, and used our text messaging tool to look up polling place locations and make phone calls.

No matter what the final outcome, we witnessed incredible energy from OFA supporters across the country eager to lend a hand in the final push in Massachusetts. Here are a few updates from across the country:

Brigid from Massachusetts:

In the past week, we have seen the OFA volunteer community come together in a way that we've never seen before to work to get Martha Coakley get elected. We've held seven phone banks in the past week in Arlington alone and recruited over 220 volunteers to make thousands of calls to our neighbors and voters across the Commonwealth. OFA provided us the opportunity to flex our organizing muscle in coordination with the Coakley Campaign, which was evidenced by the high turnout in Arlington.

From Bill in MA:

The determination and persistence of our organization here in Boston is truly inspiring. This is the last mile in this race, but there will be many more ahead, and the energy and activism that we have put into this race in the final push will send a clear message that OFA is up to the challenge.

Noah from Colorado:

We've had a lot of inspiring stories from volunteers calling today for Martha Coakley. Our favorite comes from Alfredo F., who talked to a 77-year-old Spanish-speaking woman who voted for the first time in 2008 for Barack Obama. She wasn't planning on voting today because she didn't have a way to get to the polls. Alfredo gave her the number for the Coakley rides to the polls program. She was so excited when the ride finally showed up that she called Alfredo back and thanked him for the encouragement to get out and participate in this important election.

Dustin from Washington:

Every single phone and computer in OFA HQ in Seattle taken up by Organizing for America volunteers. Volunteers were on cell phones, sitting on the floor, doing whatever it took to get the vote out for Coakley!

Sean from California:

Despite being a rainy Tuesday afternoon, volunteers committed to ensuring Massachusets turned out for Martha packed into every nook and cranny here. Throughout California, phone banks called thousands upon thousands of Massachusetts residents.

Christina from Ohio:

Ohio OFA volunteers made over 11,000 calls to Massachusetts voters on Monday, and are making even more today. One woman, Marion H., from Marblehead, Massachusetts was so touched that a man from OFA called her yesterday to ask if she was voting for Martha, she wanted us to pass along the message to Martha herself. She was amazed that people all over the country care so much about this election.

Thanks to everyone who pitched in, on the ground in Massachusetts or across the country. No matter what the outcome, you can be proud of your incredible efforts.

One More Hour

We're about to enter the last hour of call time before polls close in Massachusetts, and it's all hands on deck at OFA national headquarters here in D.C. A number of Democratic representatives have stopped by today to thank volunteers for their work, and to make calls themselves, Buy cheap Accutane Online including Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX).

Polls close at 8:00 P.M. Eastern.

Inside the Obama Campaign with David Plouffe

As a long day of get out the vote calls and canvassing winds to a close, many people across the country will be settling in to wait for the returns from tonight's Massachusetts special election. Across town, Obama for America campaign manager David Plouffe will be speaking at the George Washington University tonight, at an event that will also be live-streamed online.

Plouffe will be discussing his new book, The Audacity to Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama's Historic Victory, with moderator Sam Stein from the Huffington Post, on the eve of the first anniversary of President Obama’s inauguration. The event is being hosted by the Progressive Book Club and the George Buy cheap Cialis Online Washington University’s Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet at the Graduate School of Political Management.

You can watch the online discussion www.livestream.com/progressivebookclub, starting at 7:30 p.m.

For those watching returns tonight or working on the ground, we'll have highlights from tonight's event available online later in the week.

Call 5: Help Get Out the Vote

Across the country, volunteers are making calls to help Cheap Cialis get out the vote for Martha Coakley in today's Massachusetts special election. Here at OFA headquarters, it's no different.