Something big just happened in one of America's most infamous political battlegrounds.
Something that stops big money from corrupting politics and puts power back
into the hands of the people
Citizens need to take back their government, and we've done that here in Tallahasssee
the story of how they won should matter to every American because today, we have a government that only listens to a tiny fraction of our population
it means that we get stuck with laws that are bad for us and good for them
it affects every issue at every level of government. It's rampant, systemic, and worst of all, it's legal.
we cannot ignore this corruption anymore.
because there is no sensible reform possible until we end this corruption.
it all started when a community in Florida decided to show America what is possible
they set out not only to protect their own government from big money's influence,
but to create a model for communities across America to do the same.
corruption is an issue that the left and the right can come to an agreement on, and work to affect change.
conservatives and progressives put aside their differences and got to work.
the chair of the florida tea party network
the former president of the Florida league of women voters
the chairman of Florida common cause
and a former county commissioner
banded together to create citizens for ethics reform
we used the American Anti-Corruption Act as a model for what we did here in Tallahassee,
and I'm sure any other city or state could do the same
the American Anti-Corruption Act includes tough new lobbying and ethics rules to stop political bribery
because bribery should be, you know, illegal.
transparency laws to put an end to secret money so we know who's really backing our politicians
and a tax rebate for voters who make small political donations so we can elect politicians who haven't sold out to special interests.
this is what I'm fighting for. I'm fighting for you, but you have to fight too.
polling all over the country shows that anti-corruption laws are incredibly popular
when they show up on the ballot, they win.
we would just walk up to people and say "we want an independent ethics officer in Tallahassee," and people were like "where do we sign?"
we needed a little over 9,000 signatures. we were able to get over 20,000.
It's not so much convincing people to sign off on the petition, it was to convince people that it was possible to do it.
67%of Tallahasee voters said yes to an ethics and anti-corruption code for city commissioners...
(cheering, wooo hoo, general merriment)
tonight proved two things: one, that this issue of fighting corruption and making our government represent the people,
it's not a liberal issue, it's not a conservative issues, it's an American issue, and we proved it in Tallahassee tonight
and, this is the beginning, because after tonight, we are taking this victory and we're going out to other cities across the country until it reaches Washington and we pass it nationally
and it started here, tonight.
we came together to show America that we can take our country back from special interests
that if you're willing to fight for it, the promise of a government of, by, and for the people
is not only possible -- it's happening right now.
that's why we need your help. Pass this video on to your friends, your colleagues, your family
if we put aside our differences and work together, we can pass anti-corruption laws from coast to coast and give America back to its rightful owners: the people.