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“A Winding Path to Equality”
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Friend,
Women have played a crucial role in the pursuit of equality for all American citizens—as leaders of the Underground Railroad, in the decades-long effort for the 19th Amendment that granted women the right to vote, as drivers of the Civil Rights movement, and much much more. This March, as our country celebrates Women’s History Month, American Promise highlights the leadership of women citizen leaders in the movement for our nation’s next constitutional amendment: to reduce the influence of big money in politics and strengthen the right of equality for all American citizens.
Across the country, women are working with American Promise to advance the 28th Amendment through their leadership and advocacy. Here are just a few of many examples:
Ann, Ella and Ishwari are just three of the thousands of American Promise citizen leaders across the country leading by example and working toward a solution for our country’s dysfunctional political system—following in the footsteps of the reformers before them and forging a path toward equality for all American citizens.
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Leah Field
Managing Director,
American Promise
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Citizen Leader Spotlight: Women Leaders of the Suffragist Movement
As we celebrate Women’s History Month and look back on the efforts it took to pass the 19th Amendment and guarantee women’s right to vote—a goal that took nearly 100 years to achieve—we acknowledge the passion, fortitude and persistence it takes to guarantee the fundamental right to political equality for all and how those values apply to the movement for the 28th Amendment.
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Ella McGrail: The 28th Amendment Will Cure the Sicknesses of Our Nation
American Promise Advisory Council member Ella McGrail of New Hampshire shares her perspective on why getting big money out of politics is crucial for the future of the nation—for her generation and others that will follow.
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The American Promise Candidate Pledge is a volunteer-led effort to get candidates and elected officials at all levels of government to pledge on the record that they will use their office to advance the 28th Amendment to put people, not money, in charge of our political system. Ask your elected official to sign the pledge!
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| What We’re Tracking This Week
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From Issue One: A new digital research project tracks how candidates and outside organizations, including Super PACs and dark money groups, work together to evade anti-coordination rules. Created by cross-partisan political reform group Issue One, Coordination Watch outlines how Congress and the Federal Election Commission could better enforce election laws and includes a roundup of the latest news on questionable campaign finance practices. Read more.
From the Brooklyn Public Library: Citizens in Brooklyn will have the opportunity to share their thoughts on democracy reform to help draft the 28th Amendment during a series of forums at library branches, correctional facilities, and high schools. The first forum is March 5. Read more.
From the American Interest: The real election excitement in 2020 is beyond the presidential race and instead at the state level, according to Alex Kaplan of RepresentUs, who notes the numerous election reform campaigns. “The opportunity to fix a broken system is only growing every year, with a broad appeal that stretches across party lines. And it is on the verge of a tipping point nationwide,” he says. Read more.
From the Los Alamos Reporter: A League of Women Voters meeting in Los Alamos focused on the movement for a constitutional amendment to address the effects of Citizens United. Two elected officials in attendance, Los Alamos County Councilor Pete Sheehey and Public Education Commissioner KarylAnn Armbruster, have signed the American Promise Pledge to advance the 28th Amendment. Read more.
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From the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: A newly released study by several Yale University researchers finds that contributions from oil and gas companies influence how legislators vote on environmental issues. “The influence (or investment) of money in politics has taken on new importance in the United States with the Citizens United versus Federal Election Commission Supreme Court decision in 2010,” according to the researchers. Read more.
From the (University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh) Advance-Titan: Wisconsin United to Amend, a nonpartisan citizen group working to removing dark money from politics, is collecting signatures to get a referendum on the ballot in Oshkosh. American Promise has partnered with the group to advocate for a constitutional amendment to address the effects of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling. Read more.
From the Bernardsville (NJ) News: A recent citizens panel forum in Berkeley Heights highlighted the common ground among New Jersey citizens on political issues, including campaign finance, gerrymandering and lobbying. In four questions, majorities of at least 69% of Republicans and 81% of Democrats called for greater transparency in campaign finance disclosures by large donors, corporations and federal contractors. Read more.
From the (Delaware) Cape Gazette: Judith Butler of Delaware American Promise encourages fellow Delaware residents to urge their state senators and representatives to support a resolution calling on Congress to pass an amendment to limit the influence of money in politics. “Our campaign finance system is deeply flawed,” Butler says. Read more.
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| Upcoming American Promise Events
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March 5, Salem, MA: Author and award-winning scholar Nancy MacLean will discuss her new book, “Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America,” which has been called “perhaps the best explanation to date of the roots of the political divide that threatens to irrevocably alter American government.” Nancy was a speaker at the 2019 National Citizen Leadership Conference. 7 p.m.-8 p.m., Veterans Hall, Ellison Campus Center, Salem State University. Learn more.
March 6, Concord, MA: Author and award-winning scholar Nancy MacLean will discuss her new book, “Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America,” which has been called “perhaps the best explanation to date of the roots of the political divide that threatens to irrevocably alter American government.” Nancy was a speaker at the 2019 National Citizen Leadership Conference. 7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m., First Parish Church. Learn more.
March 10, St. Paul, MN: The Democracy is Brewing tour makes a stop in Minnesota, where State Coordinator Vicki Barnes and American Promise State Manager Azor Cole will discuss how to get involved locally in the national fight to get big money out of politics. 5 p.m.-7 p.m., Lake Monster Brewing. Learn more.
March 11, St. Paul, MN: Join Minnesotans advocating for their state to become the 21st calling for a constitutional amendment to get big money out of politics. During Citizen Lobby Day, citizen leaders will provide training for in-person meetings with legislators at the Minnesota Capitol. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Learn more.
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American Promise empowers Americans to act together to win the 28th Amendment so people, not money, govern in America.
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