November 28, 2012
WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Barack Obama should once again refuse to
accept corporate funding for his inauguration and thus avoid both real
and perceived corruption, Public Citizen urged in a letter to the
president today.
The letter follows published reports indicating that Obama’s advisors
are recommending he consider accepting corporate contributions to pay
for the upcoming inauguration festivities. In 2009, Obama chose not to
accept such donations for the festivities surrounding his first
inauguration.
The letter, from Public Citizen President Robert Weissman, calls
corporate donations to the inauguration “a patently horrible idea.”
“There is no way for the American people to see major corporate names
associated with the inauguration and not assume those corporations are
paying for a lot more than the inauguration festivities,” Weissman said.
Noting that the inauguration will be on the anniversary of the U.S.
Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
decision,
Weissman says, “It would be more than a bitter irony to have
corporations sponsor or fund the inauguration on the anniversary of Citizens
United; it would undermine the case for corporate-free elections.”
The letter also recommends establishing a basic nonpartisan framework
for what constitutes an appropriate public outlay for the inauguration
– well in advance of the next presidential election – and then
calibrating public inauguration festivities to that funding commitment.
“Some element of our democracy, at least, should be corporate-free,”
Weissman said.
To read the full text of the letter, visit http://www.citizen.org/documents/obama-second-term-inauguration-weissman-letter.pdf.
For information on Public Citzen's petition drive to keep corporate
sponsorship out of the inauguration process, please visit http://pubc.it/OinuAG.
WASHINGTON, June 5, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Former Presidential Candidate Gary Bauer congratulated Governor Scott Walker for his win in Wisconsin's recall election, calling it "another sign that taxpayers will award office holders ready to do the hard work of reigning in out-of-control government spending."
Bauer, the chairman of the Campaign for Working Families, made the following statement:
"I congratulate Governor Scott Walker for his hard-fought victory tonight, and most especially for having the courage of his convictions to fight the good fight. But the victory in Wisconsin is not Scott Walker's alone. It is a victory for the hard-working taxpayers of Wisconsin, who foot the bill year after year. It is a victory for common sense over powerful special interests. It is a victory that taxpayers in every state can celebrate. It is a victory, yes, even for some union members.
"Since Gov. Walker's reforms were enacted, tens of thousands of state employees have opted to keep more of the money they earn rather than let the public employees union siphon off their hard-earned dollars. In other words, once given the choice, more than half of the public employees union's members decided that they didn't need the union. These reforms will pay real dividends for the taxpayers of Wisconsin. They are the real winners tonight.
"The recall election is a sign of good things to come. The power of the Big Labor bosses has finally been checked, not just in Wisconsin, but also in scores of other states across the country. More governors, legislators and taxpayers will be inspired to stand up against the liberal labor unions and do what is truly in the best interests of their communities. Wisconsin's 10 Electoral College votes are now in play, and the anti-tax, small government movement that swept the country in 2010 is about to sweep Barack Obama out of office in 154 days!"
Source: PR Newswire (http://s.tt/1drYR)