Lisa Gilbert

As corporate money continues to flood our democracy in the form of negative campaign ads and robo calls, people are getting mad and are taking action. This week, corporate CEOs are being put on notice as rallies and other actions are planned in relationship to first-time shareholder resolutions being put...

This week has showcased the need for a spotlight on the money overwhelming our democracy, as reform groups, investors, state elected officials and more have demanded that Congress and federal agencies do their jobs and make elections transparent to the people voting in them.

First, on Monday morning, organizations and...

If you're not a campaign finance wonk, then you may not have noted that a significant anniversary will arrive on this weekend on January 21st. Citizens United vs. FEC.

This week two years ago, I and many other reformers spent days constantly refreshing our browsers on the

"Insider trading" by members of Congress seems to cause similar reactions in most. "Isn't that already illegal?" is the common refrain. And why wouldn't it be, as insider trading lands everyone else in the U.S. -- and most industrialized countries -- in jail and slaps them with huge fines. The...

The right to go to court when wronged is a right that most Americans take for granted. If someone negligently hurts another person, the harmed person should retain the right to hold the responsible party accountable.

But currently, the ability to bring your grievances to a jury of your peers...

The state of play:

• One in ten American workers remain unemployed.
• Millions have been evicted from their homes.
• Tensions are erupting in state capitals over budget deficits and threats to terminate thousands of school teachers and other public employees.
• America has a record federal budget deficit, while...

While regular Americans continue to suffer from home loss and unemployment, the largest banks are once again awarding massive bonuses and compensation to the bankers that crashed our economy in part through risky pay incentives.

Executive pay remains a controversial issue, and no one doubts that it will resurface loudly...

As we head into this year's Wall Street bonus season, there is an eerie sense of déjà vu. Ordinary Americans continue to suffer from foreclosures, unemployment, and cuts in public services, as the largest banks take in the nation's wealth and prepare to use it to award massive bonuses to...

The right of consumers to band together to take action against corporate rip-offs is something that is enshrined in case law, enforced by the state courts and depended on by average Americans as a catchall to fight corporate fraud.

Tomorrow, we face the potential death of this right. The...

As we enter October, and the polarized election environment continues to sizzle with ethics accusations, it's a good time to take a hard look back at what happened in this Congress around ethics. In addition, looking forward-- it is important that strong ethics enforcement and maintaining the Office of Congressional...

In Citizens United vs. FEC, the U.S. Supreme Court got it dead wrong -- and now, as we enter an election season already riddled with distrust of politicians and more ethics scandals than we've seen since Jack Abramoff, regular Americans are paying a price in the currency of...

The DISCLOSE Act, the core legislative reaction to the overwhelmingly unpopular Citizens United decision, comes in the nick of time. If it passes, it and other legislative solutions will help protect the 2010 election from a flood of corporate spending.

It's no wonder the Supreme...

It's a brave new world of corporate power, thanks to the Supreme Court's Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission decision, and corporations, in their newly clarified role as "persons," are gearing up to spend their profits freely in federal elections.

However, since the massive profits generated by corporations...

Not so long ago, "Citizens United vs. the Federal Elections Commission" was just a pending obscure decision facing the Supreme Court.

But on January 21, with a cataclysmic ruling, what was once only on the minds of a few fretting campaign finance reformers made its way to America's...

On Thursday the long-delayed Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United vs. the Federal Election Commission yanked open the floodgates to corporate money in politics.

In a shocking burst of judicial activism, the Court decided that corporations should be treated like "people" in campaigns and be allowed to...

"The Change We Need." President Obama sailed into office buoyed up by this now-familiar mantra, stating clearly his goal to change the way Washington operates, to forever alter the influence peddling-culture.

So did we get what we needed? That question is on the mind of every government reform advocate...