Trying for MoveToAmend

I believe organizations such as MoveToAmend, Represent.Us, and MAYDAY.US, which have a common objective, should be collaborative and mutually supportive in promoting that common objective, even as the organizations have differing approaches for how to try to bring about needed change.

In my previous entry, I reported how I have joined in with Represent.Us in their small business owner initiative. See Team up with Represent.Us re: small business.

I have an acquaintance in Oregon who has been very active in advocating for a constitutional amendment to provide that corporations are not persons and money is not speech.

I have had the below email interchange with this acquaintance:

From: Rob Shattuck <rdshattuck@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, Nov 30, 2014 at 10:48 AM
Subject: Fwd: FYI Matt: Team up with Represent.Us re: small business
To: Rick Staggenborg <staggenborg4senate@hotmail.com>
Cc: Lee Woodsmall <wlwoodsmall@gmail.com>, Matt Vaughan <matt@unitedrepublic.org>
Dear Rick,
You and I have discussed several times the past couple of years the matter of trying to get organizations such as MoveToAmend, Represent.Us, and MAYDAY.US, to be more collaborative and mutually supportive in promoting their common goal, even as the organizations have differing approaches for how to try to bring about needed change.
In the past week, I initiated specific action to join with Represent.Us in promoting its initiative to get endorsements from small business owners of the American Anti-Corruption Act.
I consider myself traveling under the MAYDAY banner (because of its focus on getting reform minded Congressional candidates elected).
For information about how I (as MAYDAY oriented) have joined with Represent.Us on its small business initiative, please see the entry Team up with Represent.Us re: small business, which I have posted in The MAYDAY Supporters Blog.
I hope that you, in your role in the Amend movement, will endeavor in 2015 to search for ways to be collaborative with MAYDAY.US and Represent.Us (and other organizations) in promoting your and their common goals, even as there may be differing approaches.
In my mind, the most important thing is publicizing to the public the existence of the fundamental problem in the country's governance, which the country must address in some way if Congress is to be able to do its job properly in dealing with the country's big problems.
Lee Woodsmall and Matt Vaughan, whom I am copying on this email, are my contacts at MAYDAY.US and Represent.Us, respectively.
Please keep me apprised of any steps you take along the lines urged by this email, particularly in case I can do anything to lend support to them.
Sincerely,
Rob

From: Rick Staggenborg <staggenborg4senate@hotmail.com>
Date: Sun, Nov 30, 2014 at 1:35 PM
Subject: RE: FYI Matt: Team up with Represent.Us re: small business
To: Rob Shattuck <rdshattuck@gmail.com>
Cc: Lee Woodsmall <wlwoodsmall@gmail.com>, Matt Vaughan <matt@unitedrepublic.org>
I appreciate your keeping me in the loop, Rob. I have seen encouraging signs of collaboration and new opportunities for cooperation between groups working in different ways to address corruption by special interest money in elections and other aspects of government. I continue to encourage these groups to systematically collaborate to support each others efforts.One hopeful sign was that RepresentUs teamed with one of the groups pushing for an amendment (Public Citizen?) to call for pledges for BOTH the AACA and an amendment. The idea was to pose the question to presidential candidates in 2016 and publicize their responses, making this a campaign issue. That is the same idea behind Move to Amend's Pledge to Amend strategy that is an adaptation of the one that I proposed in 2012.
My only disappointments regarding this effort are that:
1) I only saw one notice. However, I presume that this will be publicized more extensively during the campaign season that has already unofficially begun.
2) More importantly, the strategy was not used (as far as I am aware) during the midterms. I see congressional elections as more central to the strategy if the point is to elect a Congress that will pass the AACA and/or an amendment. In fairness, Move to Amend started very late and put in an inadequate effort to promote their campaign. It seems that the idea of using reform as a campaign issue has been surprisingly slow to penetrate the consciousness of leaders in the movement, but it is happening.
The other very hopeful sign is seeing MayDay put money behind reform candidates. I can only assume that will include both AACA supporters and amendment supporters (and especially candidates who support both).
Keep up the good work, my friend. I will keep working in my own way to promote a unified anti-corruption movement. I encourage Lee and Matt to contact me if they are willing to talk to people working on this independent of the leadership of the many groups who do not seem to be able to talk directly to each other.
Thanks,

Rick Staggenborg, MD
Board President, Take Back America for the People
Founder, Soldiers For Peace International
http://www.soldiersforpeaceinternational.org/2011/01/asymmetrical-warfare.html
Coos Bay, OR 541-217-8044 

I post this information to encourage organizations and their members to be proactive for collaborations and mutual support in publicizing and promoting their common objective.