The President's Message
Dennis Mar, President, League of Women Voters of the Monterey Peninsula
Did you feel a political earthquake? "Today, basic pillars of American democracy have been undermined--that elections should not be corrupted by vast corporate wealth and that the voters should be at the center of our democratic system." National LWV President Mary Wilson made this public statement about the Supreme Court decision on Citizens United v. FEC.
The Court stated that corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections cannot be limited. Can you smell the stacks of cash anxious to get into the game?
I expect that some of us feel disheartened. LWVMP members have participated in campaign finance reform at national, state, and local levels. Will all be swept aside by a tide of corporate money and saturation of the media?
But now is not the time to fall into despair. Here are two ways for us to respond.
Let People Hear Directly
Many of my friends outside of the League are amused by my attachment to C-Span. I admit that I am a Brian Lamb groupie, having traveled twice to hear him speak (okay, it was only CSUMB and then Salinas). When C-Span’s BookTV bus stopped in Monterey, I went down there just to sit in it and pretend I was being interviewed.
C-Span has a novel approach to the use of probing or hand-hitting questions during their interviews: there are none. Brian Lamb's theory is let the protagonists talk--let all sides talk--and the public is smart enough to tell whom to believe and whom not to believe.
Our candidates' forums follow much of this philosophy: let the candidates speak, let the public question, make sure the process is fair and accessible. The words go from the candidates' mouths to the public's ears. There is no filtering in between.
It is an effort to present a candidates' forum especially in rounding up an audience. But where else can the citizens question candidates directly? The League has a great tradition leading these events. We must keep at it.
Stay Organized
The second point to remember is that you are members of a strong organization with a well regarded reputation. With the League you have a collection of informed and committed people. Organizing for group action multiplies the influence of the individual.
Please come to the Program Planning meeting Wednesday, February 17, at noon. At this meeting, members talk about their concerns and suggest ways the League could address them. The meeting will be at Mariposa Hall conference room, 801 Lighthouse Ave., Monterey, (cross street Irving).
The first 20 people to contact me get a free box lunch. We will set local priorities and suggest issues for national attention. (Send me an RSVP through LWVMPCA@yahoo.com, leave a message at the League office 648-8683, or contact me directly if you want box lunch!
