Before the operation began, EA received reports from activists who were planning on descending on Wall Street to "Occupy It" and spread their message. It was a bold plan, one that had little to no credibility at the start, one that received almost no initial media attention (and even less positive attention), and it was a plan that would probably fail.
Except it didn't fail. The weeks have passed, and now the politicians and the media are no longer ignoring "Occupy Wall Street."
But one question remained: what was the message? What was the demand, or the goal, or the unifying statement? Many have tried to publish one, but none have succeeded.
Perhaps until now. On September 27th, MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan published an article on the Huffington Post, echoing sentiments he had been talking about for quite some time, that had a simple, yet ambitious, proposal: get the money out of politics. In conjunction with lobbyist Jimmy Williams and political strategist Lawrence Lessig (of Fix Congress First fame), Ratigan even managed to draft an Amendment to the Constitution, (text below), which he has asked Americans to sign.
But on October 9th, someone put some fancy music behind a speech (nay, a rant) that Ratigan gave on the air, and it is already starting to catch on and spread quickly.
So I ask the readers this: many have tried, all have failed, but is this finally the unifying statement behind which Occupy Wall Street Movement will line up?
Text of two drafts for the proposed Constitutional Amendment:
From our former Washington Lobbyist, Jimmy Williams, here is a DRAFT of our Constitutional Amendment for public debate this fall:
"No person, corporation or business entity of any type, domestic or foreign, shall be allowed to contribute money, directly or indirectly, to any candidate for Federal office or to contribute money on behalf of or opposed to any type of campaign for Federal office. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, campaign contributions to candidates for Federal office shall not constitute speech of any kind as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution or any amendment to the U. S. Constitution. Congress shall set forth a federal holiday for the purposes of voting for candidates for Federal office."
Here is Lawrence Lessig's DRAFT of the amendment. As always we would like your comments for debate.
"No non-citizen shall contribute money, directly or indirectly, to any candidate for Federal office. United States citizens shall be free to contribute no more than the equivalent of $100 to any federal candidate during any election cycle. Notwithstanding the limits construed to be part of the First Amendment, Congress shall have the power to limit, but not ban, independent political expenditures, so long as such limits are content and viewpoint neutral. Congress shall set forth a federal holiday for the purposes of voting for candidates for Federal office."