Constitutional Amendment to Overturn "Citizens United"

Congress is broken, and it cannot fix itself. If we begin with that basic fact, it seems clear: Our Republic can only be saved by We, the People. Tonight on The Middle Ground, we'll talk to a team of activists lead by Coffee Party founding member Ryan Clayton about why they believe a Constituional Amendment to overturn Citizens United is the best path forward. As we speak, Lawrence Lessig is drafting the language to be introduced in state legislatures across the United States, calling for an Article 5 Convention to address the issue of money in politics. Current law, as decreed by the Supreme Court in the 2010 "Citizens United" decision, calls for unlimited spending by multi-national corporations to influence our elections, and thereby the laws we live by in the United States of America. The Court has said they would welcome disclosure laws, but Congress is too divided to enact such laws, in part due to cynical hyper-partisanship, in part due to the fact that members of Congress from both parties are reluctant to change a system that put them in power. And yet, so many in Congress say they feel like hostages to fundraising. What can we do to rescue them from this corruption? Keep pressing for disclosure laws? Wait until the next election and "throw the bums out?" Or, if the problem is the corrupt system, and not the well-meaning individuals we send to Washington, perhaps our guests are right in saying a Constitutional Amendment is the only way to free the elected, and save the Republic. Presented by Coffee Party USA, "The Middle Ground" covers a variety of topics with a trans-partisan approach with an eye to finding the place where the two major political parties share that 'middle ground.' Co-hosted by award-winning filmmaker Eric Byler (center-left perspective) and political author Michael Charney (center-right perspective).