Wolf PAC

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Wolf PAC
Wolf PAC Official Logo
Formation October 2011
Founder Cenk Uygur
Type Political action committee
Headquarters Carthay, Los Angeles, California, United States[1]
Executive Director
 Ryan Clayton[2]
Organizing Director
 Mike Monetta[3]
Website wolf-pac.com

Wolf PAC is an American non-partisan political action committee formed in 2011 with the goal of "ending corporate personhood and publicly financing all elections in our country", to include the restriction of large monetary donations to political candidates, parties, and groups.[4][5] It began with an announcement at an Occupy Wall Street rally in New York City by The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur.[6] On a state level Wolf PAC has bi-partisan support for its objectives.[7]

Its strategy is to add a 28th amendment to the Constitution, thereby overturning multiple Supreme Court cases including Citizens United v. FEC and Buckley v. Valeo, which cumulatively have made it impossible to achieve Wolf PAC's campaign finance goals through simple legislation. Wolf PAC believes that Congress is too corrupt to pass such an amendment itself, and therefore advocates a convention of the States, which is a procedure outlined in Article V of the Constitution. As of July 2015, four out of the necessary thirty-four states have passed resolutions calling for such a convention.

Formation and background

On January 21, 2010, the Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United v. FEC that it is unconstitutional to restrict independent expenditures by corporations, unions, and other associations.[8] This ruling was followed in March by the D.C. District Court of Appeals Speechnow.org v. FEC case, in which the court explicitly allowed the creation of Super PACs, which are allowed to spend unlimited money to influence elections, as long as they do not coordinate with any candidates.[9]

These court cases are widely viewed as having worsened the influence of moneyed interests in the American political system,[10] and convinced Cenk Uygur, the host of the online news show The Young Turks, that action was necessary.[11] Although the paperwork to form Wolf PAC was filed with the FEC as early as June 2010,[12] Uygur announced the creation of Wolf PAC on October 19, 2011 during the Occupy Wall Street occupation of Zucotti Park in New York City.[13]

Progress in particular states

As a national group, Wolf PAC is working in all 50 states and declares to have currently over 20,000 volunteers.[14][15] The table below shows the progress level in each state where a Wolf PAC backed resolution has passed in either the House or the Senate.

State Introduced Bill(s) Lower house Upper house Status
 California December 3, 2012 AJR 1[16] passed (January 30, 2014)[17] passed (June 23, 2014) passed
 Connecticut May 30, 2015 HJR 64[18] passed (May 30, 2015) Pending Pending
 Delaware January 28, 2015 SCR 6[19] Pending passed (March 25, 2015) Pending
 Hawaii February 17, 2015 HCR 53[20] passed (March 17, 2015) Pending Pending
 Illinois October 22, 2013 SJR 42[21] passed (December 3, 2014) passed (April 9, 2014) passed
 Maryland February 6, 2015 SJ 2[22] Pending passed (April 8, 2015) Pending
 Missouri February 10, 2015 SCR 19[23] Pending passed (March 31, 2015) Pending
 New Hampshire January 7, 2015 HCR 2[24] passed (March 4, 2015) Pending Pending
 New Jersey August 11, 2014 SCR 132[25] / ACR 149[26] passed (February 23, 2015) passed (December 18, 2014) passed
 Vermont April 16, 2013 JRS 27[27] passed (March 21, 2014) passed (May 2, 2014) passed
 Washington January 12, 2015 HJM 4000[28] passed (February 17, 2016) Pending Pending

Vermont

On March 21, 2014, the Vermont Senate passed JRS 27, a Wolf PAC-backed resolution, in a bipartisan 25 to 2 vote.[29] On May 2, 2014, the Vermont House passed the resolution by a vote of 95-43, making Vermont the first state in the nation to call for an Article V convention concerning campaign finance reform. Sen Dick Sears, D-Bennington, was a key figure in passing the resolution. He received a call from a constituent and became convinced that the strategy made sense. "I think it's an important resolution," Sears said. "Congress isn't going to act, and we've got to do something to get this country back under control." When the resolution reached the House, an emotional plea from South Burlington farmer Benjamin Brown brought about a sense of urgency. "What am I going to tell my children, what am I going to be able to say to them about this democracy?" Brown asked the legislators. "Vermont has an opportunity to lead right now it's not left and right, it's an issue of democracy," he said. Rep. Mike Yantachka, D-Charlotte, agreed. He described the resolution as, "an opportunity to kick-start a movement that I hope will spread throughout the country and let people become aware of the real problems we have with the influence of money on elections and on our public policy."[30] In contrast to these views, Senate Minority Leader Joe Benning, R-Caledonia, saw the resolution as a grave mistake. "I see it as an attack on free speech," Benning said. "I did not want to give my vote to something that clearly restricts free speech, because I think the First Amendment is one of the most important amendments we have, if not the most important."[31]

California

On March 20, 2012, resolution was introduced in the California State Assembly, but was voted down in the Judiciary Committee.[32][33] On January 30, 2014, the California State Assembly became the second state lower chamber to resolution calling for a constitutional convention. On June 23, 2014, California became the second state in the nation to pass a resolution.[34] The state Senate voted 23-11 to support the resolution. Assemblyman Mike Gatto, the author of the resolution, remarked, "I doubt our founding fathers had the free-speech rights of multinational and foreign corporations in mind when they drafted the First Amendment."[35] Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, recognized young people for their contribution to countering the Citizens United decision. "They have taken the lead in this effort," she observed, "because they recognize that the future of democracy, that their futures, that the future of this nation...are very much at risk as a result of this decision. Money is not speech. Corporations are not people. And up until the Supreme Court decision that flipped that on its head, that was the standard in the United States of America."[36]

Illinois

On April 9, 2014, SJR 42 passed the Illinois Senate by a 37-15 vote. State Sen. Christine Radogno, R-Lemont, was the lone Republican state Senator to vote in favor of the resolution. On December 3, 2014, the Illinois House voted 74-40 in favor of the joint resolution.[37] Prior to the House vote, Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig testified before a House committee. "My ideal amendment is one that secures Congress the power to guarantee free and fair elections by making sure that we don't have a Congress that's dependent on raising millions," Lessig testified. "There are two things that have to change: the way we fund elections and the ability to eliminate entities like Super PACs from dominating the political arena.” John McGinnis, Northwestern University professor of constitutional law, disagreed with his assessment. "I think it's a very bad idea," he opined. "I think we should have more speech at the time of elections. This seems to me to make the United States system a less participatory system...I see this as an attempt by people like Professor Lessig and what I call the 'new class,' the media and academics, to restrict people who don't have opinions for a living from participating. If you look at the media and academics, they look a lot less diverse in their ideological views than rich people. Rich people are pretty divided between Republicans and Democrats."[38]

New Jersey

A resolution to call for a constitutional convention to overturn Citizens United was introduced on August 11, 2014.

Testimony before the New Jersey Senate included speeches from Wolf Pac volunteers as well as an appearance from Americans for Prosperity. Wolf Pac saw the attendance by the latter group as a sign of concern from moneyed interests at the progress that has been made to counter the Citizens United decision.[39]

On February 23, 2015, the New Jersey Assembly passed the resolution by a vote of 44-25. The resolution had previously been passed by the state Senate. "A constitutional convention is clearly needed to correct the disastrous impact of recent court decisions on the integrity of elections in New Jersey and throughout the nation," declared Assemblyman Dan Benson, D-Hamilton Township. "Citizens United opened the door to unlimited spending by shadowy, well-funded groups with no transparency or accountability – spending that drowns out the voice of the American voter and threatens the fundamental fairness of our democracy." Benson found some agreement across the aisle as Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon, R-Little Silver, supported certain campaign funding restrictions. "We restrict corporations but not unions. Perhaps a convention like this would come up with solutions," O'Scanlon said. However, Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll, R-Morris Township, disagreed with the resolution. "America boosts a long and salutary tradition of robust forceful unrestrained political expression," Carroll said. "The influence of money is grossly understated. It profoundly insults the American people to imply or insert that they are so stupid that they can't make informed political decision that they cannot assess the merits of political arguments before them."[40]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ The Plan, official Wolf PAC web site, Accessed May 4, 2014.
  5. ↑ Katerina Nikolas, November 9, 2011 in World, Digital Journal, Wolf-PAC.com: Proposal to prevent corporations buying politicians, Accessed January 15, 2014, "...In October, Cenk Uygur, ... announced the launch of Wolf-PAK during Occupy Wall Street protests. Wolf-PAC is a political action committee with a mission to pass the 28th Amendment to prevent corporations buying politicians..."
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 9780002183987
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/13-14/bill/asm/ab_0001-0050/ajr_1_bill_20121203_introduced.htm Text of bill AJR 1.
  17. ↑ http://openstates.org/ca/bills/20132014/AJR1/ Vote info for bill AJR 32.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ http://openstates.org/il/bills/98th/SJR42/ Info for bill SJR 42.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ http://www.senate.mo.gov/15info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&BillID=3134130 Info for bill SCR 19.
  24. ↑ http://openstates.org/nh/bills/2015/HCR2/ Info for bill HCR 2.
  25. ↑ http://openstates.org/nj/bills/216/SCR132/ Info for bill SCR 132.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ http://openstates.org/vt/bills/2013-2014/JRS27/ Info for bill JRS 27.
  28. ↑ http://app.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=4000&year=2015
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ MORGAN TRUE, March 5, 2014, Brattleboro Reformer, Vermont first state to call for constitutional convention to get money out of politics, Accessed May 5, 2014, "...Vermont became the first state to call for a convention to amend the U.S. Constitution to reverse the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision ... Monetta is the organizing director for Wolf PAC...
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ California AJR 32 http://openstates.org/ca/bills/20112012/AJR32/
  33. ↑ http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AJR32 Text of bill AJR 32.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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