Ten years ago, on February 26, 2002, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ordered our state government to properly fund the voter-approved Clean Elections law.

Why was the court involved? Because protectors of the big-money status quo, including then-State Sen. Andrea F. Nuciforo, Jr., had spent years openly blocking one of the nation's few laws that provided for public financing of elections -- a key progressive reform.

These legislators sided with those who didn't want anything to change. Is that "progressive?" Obviously not.

We've seen it all too often: Candidates who sound like us during a campaign, but once elected, ignore or even oppose the progressive ideas we need to reform our politics and restore fairness to our economy. Other candidates, like Rep. Richard Neal, fund their campaigns almost exclusively with millions from corporations and lobbyists and, not surprisingly, don't join with real progressive Democrats in the Congress to work to change our broken system.

We've had enough of that old way of doing things. It's unacceptable. If we're going to put the people's priorities on the agenda in Washington, we've got to break the stranglehold of big money, and we have to do it now.

For our campaign's first "Citizens' Money Bomb," please pledge to donate up to $99 -- the maximum contribution I'll accept -- between Feburary 26-29 and help send a real champion of progressive reform to the United States Congress. Our initial goal is 50 donations, of any amount, from a broad range of people -- not just the wealthy and powerful. So please share this money bomb widely!

Onward,
Bill