If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
HuffPost Live is bringing you Shadow Conventions 2012 with the goal of sparking a national conversation on three issues that neither party is seriously addressing: the corrupting influence of money on our politics, the persistence of poverty in America, and the disastrous war on drugs. Our new streaming network will devote a day during each of the national conventions to focusing on one of those three issues. Today, HuffPost Live's team of host/producers will be joined by a broad range of politicians, thought leaders, activists, and celebrities for in-depth interviews and panel discussions on various aspects of the drug war. And we want you to be a central part of these discussions. That's what HuffPost Live is all about -- sparking real conversations about issues that impact our lives. The Shadow Conventions are your conventions. Join us and be part of a convention that's unscripted, surprising, and a lot more interesting than the over-produced political commercials in Tampa and Charlotte.
I met Bush rather briefly when he was governor of Texas and found him to be intelligent and funny -- though he certainly turned out somewhat differently than I anticipated.
Lesbians, and liberals, and Clinton, oh my! What a week! I spent time in the belly of the beast: Charlotte, NC for the DNC. I have to admit, they put on a good show.
I need to hear more from our president. What do you mean by "move our country forward"? How will you do it? Yes, we know you're human. So am I.
Campaign Finance Reform may not sound like a burning, hot-button issue, but it is, and all of us citizens better get united behind that, or pretty soon there won't be anything left worth fighting for. That's why I'm running for president and that's why I approved this message.
America's real "social welfare" nonprofits -- the hundreds of thousands of direct-service, locally based, tax paying charities that uphold the great American social contract -- need to step up and engage candidates at every turn.
To help protect themselves, while also encouraging a more democratic society, charities of all missions and purposes need to work together to moderate the influence of money in politics.
Sometimes the sound of money in politics is the sound of silence. It's the sound of crooked bankers being let off the hook, of economies left at risk, of Social Security and Medicare being weakened, of growing inequity being ignored.
While we cannot limit independent spending by outside groups, we can dramatically increase the role and importance of small donors in our elections and revolutionize the way campaigns are financed. Here's how.
In the two election cycles since the Citizens United ruling, the power dynamic has shifted dramatically in three different ways, all of which are terrible for the future of our democratic system.
Every American citizen deserves an equal voice, the right to know who is influencing his representatives, and an end to corporate political contributions that work against a fair and inclusive society.
Though the policies advocated by Republicans and Democrats are diametrically opposed on the surface, their implications and their constituencies may be much more similar.
The skyrocketing amount of money in politics is destroying the ability of public servants to do their jobs. I would be shocked if members of congress are able to devote even half of their daily schedule to the actual job for which they were elected.
The growing influence of money in politics threatens to corrupt our representative form of government, where the people -- through their votes -- are supposed to make the decisions.
Whatever the issues you most care about, this November's election will be a choice between two Supreme Courts. And the two alternatives could not be more different.
I'm constantly reminded that the issues I work on -- copyright and telecommunications -- aren't often on the front page. But over the past year, the groundswell of passionate citizens has become more vocal on these issues.
