Public campaign finance: let's party
Let's face it: proposals in the General Assembly don't always seem like the best fodder for a party.
And among all of them, it's possible that one of the least likely to inspire great revelry is public campaign financing, a subject many voters know little to nothing about and one that requires more than a little explanation about the arcana of campaign finance law.
Yet advocates for the measure are betting they will prove that supposition wrong with a "Dance For Democracy" event March 7, complete with not only several musical acts, but with, wait for it, presentations on why public financing is a good idea.
FULL RELEASE BELOW
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The 2006 elections in Maryland shattered 2002's record for special interest money contributed to candidates, giving wealthy special interests undue influence in Annapolis -- while education, the environment, and health care went shortchanged. The solution:
voluntary, public funding of campaigns - clean elections. Come to the "DANCE FOR DEMOCRACY" to raise your consciousness about clean elections and other democracy issues: paper-based voting, universal voter registration, non-partisan elections and easy recounts with routine audits. Let's make Maryland a leader in election integrity - and dance while we do it!
DANCE FOR DEMOCRACY!
What: Dance & Rally for PUBLICLY-FUNDED CAMPAIGNS.
Where: (St. John's Church) 2640 - The Cooperate Event Venue at 2640 St.
Paul St.,
Baltimore, MD, (Contact The 2640 Project, 2640@redemmas.org.)
When: Friday, March 7, 2008 (6 - 10 pm)
Doors open at 6:00 pm. Presentations and music begin at 7:00 pm.
Who: www.DanceForDemocracy.org
Presenters will include Progressive Maryland's MATTHEW WEINSTEIN and True Vote Maryland's KEVIN ZEESE.
Music will be provided by The Hula Monsters (dubbed by the Washington Post "One of the best bands in the world,") The Swing States Road Show (singing songs of peace love and understanding from Bob Wills to Bob
Marley) and introducing Barefoot Leroy (classic rock and originals).
Sponsors: Progressive Maryland, TrueVote Maryland, Baltimore Climate Action Network, SAVE Our Votes, Maryland PIRG, Common Cause Maryland.
Misc: $5 per person, no advance tix, ALL AGES, smoke- and alcohol-free.
Food and beverages will be available for purchase at the event. Venue is handicapped-accessible, but lacks handicapped restroom facilities.
KEVIN ZEESE, True Vote Maryland:
"Campaign finance reform is urgently needed in Maryland, where special interest money dominates politics. Maryland needs publicly funded campaigns so that political races will be based on ideas to improve the lives of Marylanders rather than on the quest to raise the most corporate money. Clean money campaigns are a critical next step toward building a democracy that represents the people."
MATTHEW WEINSTEIN, Progressive Maryland:
"It has rightly been said that whoever pays for the politics owns the politicians. We have repeatedly seen the nation's and Maryland's policymaking processes distorted by the influence of money, recent examples including state electricity deregulation, federal Medicare privatization, and the recent defeat of efforts to make our state tax system less regressive. How will Maryland ever move ahead on challenges like universal health care if we can't reduce the pervasive influence of money in politics? We believe that a voluntary system of public campaign funding for viable candidates is the answer. In other states, publicly-funded campaign legislation has freed up the policymaking process, allowing Maine to pass a universal health care law and Arizona to reduce prescription drug prices for seniors. We believe passage of Clean Money Campaign Finance Reform, currently pending before the Maryland General Assembly, will have a similar positive impact here in Maryland."
The 2006 elections in Maryland shattered 2002's record for special interest money contributed to candidates, giving wealthy special interests undue influence in Annapolis -- while education, the environment, and health care went shortchanged. The solution:
voluntary, public funding of campaigns - clean elections. Come to the "DANCE FOR DEMOCRACY" to raise your consciousness about clean elections and other democracy issues: paper-based voting, universal voter registration, non-partisan elections and easy recounts with routine audits. Let's make Maryland a leader in election integrity - and dance while we do it!
DANCE FOR DEMOCRACY!
What: Dance & Rally for PUBLICLY-FUNDED CAMPAIGNS.
Where: (St. John's Church) 2640 - The Cooperate Event Venue at 2640 St.
Paul St.,
Baltimore, MD, (Contact The 2640 Project, 2640@redemmas.org.)
When: Friday, March 7, 2008 (6 - 10 pm)
Doors open at 6:00 pm. Presentations and music begin at 7:00 pm.
Who: www.DanceForDemocracy.org
Presenters will include Progressive Maryland's MATTHEW WEINSTEIN and True Vote Maryland's KEVIN ZEESE.
Music will be provided by The Hula Monsters (dubbed by the Washington Post "One of the best bands in the world,") The Swing States Road Show (singing songs of peace love and understanding from Bob Wills to Bob
Marley) and introducing Barefoot Leroy (classic rock and originals).
Sponsors: Progressive Maryland, TrueVote Maryland, Baltimore Climate Action Network, SAVE Our Votes, Maryland PIRG, Common Cause Maryland.
Misc: $5 per person, no advance tix, ALL AGES, smoke- and alcohol-free.
Food and beverages will be available for purchase at the event. Venue is handicapped-accessible, but lacks handicapped restroom facilities.
KEVIN ZEESE, True Vote Maryland:
"Campaign finance reform is urgently needed in Maryland, where special interest money dominates politics. Maryland needs publicly funded campaigns so that political races will be based on ideas to improve the lives of Marylanders rather than on the quest to raise the most corporate money. Clean money campaigns are a critical next step toward building a democracy that represents the people."
MATTHEW WEINSTEIN, Progressive Maryland:
"It has rightly been said that whoever pays for the politics owns the politicians. We have repeatedly seen the nation's and Maryland's policymaking processes distorted by the influence of money, recent examples including state electricity deregulation, federal Medicare privatization, and the recent defeat of efforts to make our state tax system less regressive. How will Maryland ever move ahead on challenges like universal health care if we can't reduce the pervasive influence of money in politics? We believe that a voluntary system of public campaign funding for viable candidates is the answer. In other states, publicly-funded campaign legislation has freed up the policymaking process, allowing Maine to pass a universal health care law and Arizona to reduce prescription drug prices for seniors. We believe passage of Clean Money Campaign Finance Reform, currently pending before the Maryland General Assembly, will have a similar positive impact here in Maryland."
Comments
I can't think of a better use for my tax dollars than paying a 9-11 conspiracy theorist to run for office every election cycle. Can you?
Posted by: Baltimoron | February 29, 2008 10:45 AM