January 23rd, 2012

Liberal Al Franken Gets His Due: "Buy The Vote Website" Publishes Anti-SOPA/Anti-Franken Post That Virals Out Wildy

Posted by: Barry Secrest
Published on January 23rd, 2012 @ 11:33:01 pm , using 430 words

Posted in Events and Issues: Credible Resources

Hi.

My name is Al Franken. I am a Senator from Minnesota. A proposed bill in the Senate, PIPA, threatens to treat the concept of free speech in much the same way that totalitarian regimes in China, Iran and North Korea do. This bill is why so many internet sites have 'gone black' in protest. It was written for lobbyists to place corporate greed over the fundamental freedoms our nation was founded on, and I support it.

Does my support of this bill mean Lobbyist Money is more important to me than Free Speech?

Would it surprise you to know that, during the 2010 Election Cycle, I accepted at least $88,900 in contributions from members of the Entertainment industry, who are leading the push to have these bills hastily approved.?

And hey - how does the campaign money I was legally required to report is compare to all the steak dinners my lobbyist friends take me out to. Do you think they take me on many fancy golf vacations too?

What are you going to do? Complain? Go ahead, see if I care.

I've ignored the advice and warnings of hundreds of experts in Constitutional Law, Free Speech and Technology. Do you think I'll listen to *you*?

These are my contact details

Facebook	http://facebook.com/Sen.Franken
Phone	202-224-5641
Online Web Form	http://www.franken.senate.gov/?p=contact
YouTube	http://www.youtube.com/SenatorFranken
ProPublica SOPA/PIPA record	http://projects.propublica.org/sopa/F000457

Free Speech and Good Government are not Partisan

Notice the lack of Political Party affiliations on this site. This was by design.

Free speech is a fundamental concept to the history and laws of the United States. When it comes to campaign contributions, elected officials in all parties have skirted ethics and morals.

The best government money can buy is not a good government at all.

The sad truth is that politicians like money. That's why Campaign Finance Reform is such a hot -- and important -- topic.

Citizens shouldn't have to compete for representation with lobbyists who funnel cash through PACs and "intermediaries" or "bundlers" -- elected officials should be working for the people, not the wealthy.

A single person can't compete with the hundreds of thousands of lobbyist dollars that candidates typically receive, but together we might be able to.

If you tweet at a Senator or Representative with the hashtag #buythevote, we'll start tracking it. We'll keep a running tally of how many people want their representatives to give back lobbyist dollars before their vote. We'll also track the total number of people and dollars offered to congresspeople for them to represent people, not lobbyists.

Please Visit the Buythevote.org website to find out what you can do