It is Time to “Change Congress”

By: Michael M. Shapiro

This past month, Stanford Law Professor Larry Lessig and Joe Trippi, former campaign manager for Howard Dean and senior advisor to John Edwards in their runs for the White House, teamed up to form “Change Congress,” a national movement to help end corruption in the United States Congress (www.change-congress.org). The organization is advocating for several important measures that will help reform Washington, asks all candidates to pledge to undertake these reforms, and encourages citizens to promote these important issues by agreeing to a similar pledge.

First, “Change Congress” asks candidates running for Congress to pledge not to accept lobbyist or PAC money.  Second, it advocates for an end to Congressional earmarks in order to eliminate wasteful government spending.  Third, the organization demands transparency in Washington including having members of Congress publicly disclose meetings with registered lobbyists, earmark requests, and other such reforms. Last, “Change Congress” seeks publicly financed campaigns to end the corrosive influence of campaign contributions to the political process.

“Change Congress” is currently encouraging citizens to research candidates and learn about their opinions on the issues being promoted by the organization.  “Change Congress” then plans to contact members of Congress and candidates running for Congress to urge them to sign the group's pledge.  The organization is currently seeking volunteers to assist them.  Interested citizens can email them at info@change-congress.org

Michael M. Shapiro, founder of ShapTalk.com, is an attorney who resides in New Providence, New Jersey. He currently serves as the Editor of The Alternative Press, www.thealternativepress.com Contact Mike at mike@shaptalk.com