Demand that presidential candidates commit to restoring government by the people

The problem’s gotten too big to ignore. Our political system is too dominated by special interests to listen to the rest of us -- and even politicians are taking notice.

Nearly every candidate in the 2016 presidential race, from Jeb Bush to Hillary Clinton, says they’re on our side in the fight to take our democracy back from wealthy donors -- while their Super PACs accept seven-figure checks behind the scenes.

Even Donald Trump, who gave huge sums to politicians before becoming one himself, has admitted that billionaires like him have too much influence.

We all know it’s a problem -- and we’re paying the price in policies that favor corporate interests at our expense. Now, it’s time for candidates get on board with the solutions.

Demand that presidential candidates commit to restoring government by the people and endorse "Fighting Big Money, Empowering People: A 21st Century Democracy Agenda."

When John Gardner founded Common Cause 45 years ago this week, he saw a democracy in name only -- wealthy donors buying political influence with impunity and drowning out everyone else’s voices. And it’s only gotten worse.
It’s easy to talk a big game about cleaning up Washington -- which is why so many candidates are doing it. But truly taking on the special interests and building a 21st century democracy that addresses every American’s needs means committing to specific policies:

• Amplifying every voice with small-donor public financing so candidates can win without selling out to the highest bidder
  
• Reining in big donors by making their identities public, overturning Citizens United so we can pass laws that limit campaign spending, and enforcing the laws we already have
  
  
• Protecting voters’ rights with proactive reforms, including restoring the Voting Rights Act’s protections, to ensure that no American’s voice is silenced or obstructed

Fixing our democracy should be a top priority for every presidential candidate, and this election is our best chance yet to make it happen -- if we stand up and speak out together.

Become a citizen co-signer of “Fighting Big Money, Empowering People” to let candidates know what you expect -- then tell them to do the same!

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Hiroshima

I had the privilege of visiting ground zero and the museum at Peace Park in 1979. It was truly one of the most memorable experiences of my entire life. And not just because of the horrific devastation memorialized there. It was also the dignity, compassion, and forgiveness of the Japanese people that I experienced first hand there.

You see, as I made my way from exhibit to exhibit there a deep sense of sadness, guilt and shame slowly swept over me. I found myself choking back tears.

However, when I came upon one framed image I couldn't hold it back anymore. I stood alone in front of that image in a crowded museum and openly wept for a tragedy that was perpetrated by my country before I was even born.

The image was of the shadow of a child bouncing a ball with a dog by their side, ball mid air, cast on one of the few walls left standing in the city... vaporized in the blast leaving only that shadow as evidence of their existence.

It was simply too much for me as I wept aloud in public.

Separated by our language barrier, but united in our humanity, total strangers came to comfort me, a Marine - an instrument of the machine responsible for the atrocity memorialized there.

I could not imagine that a people could be so compassionate with such a person as me that represented what I did under such circumstances. But they were. I didn't understand much Japanese but did recognize one phrase they were all repeating as they hugged and comforted me -"It's okay."

But it's not okay. It never was and never will be.