You’ve reached today’s activism segment. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s a glimmer of hope to remind you that not absolutely everything is completely terrible all the time. Today’s update: MayDay PAC's #Leaders4Reform.
Last year, in order to change how our elections are funded, Lawrence Lessig launched “the SuperPAC to end all SuperPACs” — MayDay.US. He was shrugged off by mainstream press and his grand idea seemed impossible even to those who hoped he would succeed.
Then something incredible happened.
"We raised the initial $1 million in 13 days, rather than 30," Lessig wrote at Medium. "That was matched two weeks later, and then we launched the second campaign. Thirty days after that, we crossed the $5 million mark...By the end of our campaign, we had raised $11 million of the $12 million that we had planned, with more than 50,000 donors from almost every state in the union.”
When that monetary success didn’t translate into wins in the voting booth in November, Lessig decided to relaunch with the goal of winning over current members of the House and Senate in order to pass legislation now. With a bill introduced in the Senate and 151 of the 218 House members needed to guarantee a reform majority, that goal looks increasingly within reach.
At MayDay.US you can contribute to the momentum of identifying leaders for reform and support the Fair Elections Now Act, Senator Dick Durbin’s bill which has added twenty co-sponsors less than a month after being introduced.
From the MayDay.US home page you can record a voice message in support of reform legislation which MayDay will deliver to key members of Congress, call your representatives directly using their handy script, view the full list of Leaders for Fundamental Reform, and encourage those not yet signed on to join the fight via social media using the hashtag #Leaders4Reform.
MayDay still plans to target and support pro-reform candidates for Congress next year; they simply aren’t sitting on their hands in the meantime. Lessig’s ability to adapt and continue with their mission is just one more reason to support the work MayDay is doing.
Update!
S.1538 - Fair Elections Now Act
Follow-up/new Action: #Leaders4Reform w/@MAYDAYUS
Leave a message for Congress: Citizen Recording Studio
Build a bigger #Leaders4Reform coalition: Call your representatives
Sources/additional glimmers of hope:
"The 'Super PAC to End Super PACs' Makes a Strategic Retreat” at Bloomberg Politics
"We tried. We learned. We’re trying something new: Mayday.US, v2” by Lawrence Lessig
"Frodo Baggins for President” by Lawrence Lessig
Hear the segment in context:
Episode #937 "Making progress on our biggest problem (Money in Politics)"
Revisit the original action/segment:
Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich
