By Bill Shein

Let's be honest: If we don’t get big money out of politics and fix the way our democracy functions, we'll never make real progress on jobs, economic fairness, protecting our natural environment, and the other urgent challenges of our time.

For decades, American democracy has been increasingly undermined by money from political action committees, corporate insiders, Washington lobbyists, and super-rich donors that fuels the campaign of virtually every member of Congress.

Big money has led to bad public policy. It's the reason for income and wealth inequality not seen since the Gilded Age of robber barons and oil tycoons, with a narrow elite amassing huge fortunes while millions of American families lose jobs, homes, retirement savings, and the ability to afford college.

Of course, those in Congress who raise huge sums of corporate money insist that “money doesn’t buy my vote.” Whether that's true or not, it ignores a vital point: A voting record in Congress only shows what you've had a chance to vote on. Big money's goal is to make sure the best progressive ideas never see the light of day and rarely come up for a vote. And that guarantees a narrow, status-quo agenda.

So I'm running for Congress to champion the bold political and economic reform we need. Some of my top priorities include:

• Democracy reform that includes public financing of federal elections and an upgrade of our democratic infrastructure to ensure the people – and I mean human people, not corporate “people” – set the agenda.
  
  
• Economic development that creates deeply rooted local enterprise, owned by those who live in our communities.
  
  
• A fair, progressive tax code that properly funds investments in people, communities, veterans, and the shared infrastructure of a decent society.
  
  
• A renewed commitment to quality education -- based on more than "teaching-to-the-test" -- that provides the tools for a well-rounded, productive life.

• A national health-care program like enhanced Medicare for All that gives entrepreneurs, workers, and young people the freedom to pursue their ideas and dreams without fear that illness will threaten their family’s economic security.
  
  
• Addressing climate change -- one of the moral issues of our time -- with the urgency required to protect future generations from environmental catastrophe.
  
  
• Foreign policies that recognize that war and violence only lay the groundwork for more war and violence – which is good for military contractors but terrible for everyone else.
  
  
• A Works Progress Administration-style jobs program to address persistent, long-term unemployment by engaging millions of ready-to-work Americans to do necessary work in their communities.
  
  
• A ban on campaign contributions from lobbyists -- and a lifetime ban on lobbying by former members of Congress.

Why don't more members of Congress embrace these priorities? Because above all else, big money buys silence. It means legislation that’s never introduced, a speech that’s not given, a vital reform that won’t be championed. It's the invisible killer of just, fair, and responsible policymaking.

That’s why too little has been done to address record foreclosures, long-term unemployment, falling wages, ongoing tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans, and massive overspending on the military.

Why were no Wall Street firms or executives prosecuted for criminal fraud in the housing crisis? Why weren’t too-big-to-fail banks broken up or forced to renegotiate underwater mortgages so families could stay in their homes? Because, as one U.S. senator has said, “The banks own this place.”

Now, let’s be honest again: While Republican leaders are so deep in the pocket of transnational corporations that they probably get mail delivered there, our Democratic Party, by relying so heavily on the same corporate and lobbyist money, has also failed us.

Today, Democratic candidates routinely raise big money from banks, military contractors, Wall Street, giant insurance companies, and other corporate interests. While millions continue to lose jobs and homes and the chance to afford college, these legislators attend high-dollar fundraisers at fancy restaurants, rubbing shoulders with the one percent. Sometimes these fundraisers are even held at the homes of powerful Washington lobbyists.

That may be legal. But it's outrageous. And wrong. You can't truly fight corporate influence in our government when you rely on corporate money to fund your campaign. Period.

We need Democrats in Congess who will tell the truth about the insidious role of money in politics and do something about it. Sure, lots of Democrats say they support "campaign finance reform" to appease progressive voters during campaign season. But that's not enough. We need citizen legislators who are not tainted by the old way of doing things and who will make this fight a top priority – day after day, month after month, and year after year.

We need leaders who walk the walk. That’s why my campaign only accepts small individual contributions of $99 or less. No corporate money. No PAC money. No $1,000 or $2,500 checks. And not a single penny from lobbyists – ever.

It’s why I’ll be an outspoken leader in the fight for a constitutional amendment that makes clear that corporations aren’t people and money isn’t speech.

And it’s why I promise to never cash in on my public service by becoming a paid lobbyist (or “strategic advisor”) for corporate interests – or any interests. Until all lobbying by former members of Congress is banned, we must demand that every candidate make the same vow. The gold-plated revolving door must be stopped.

I'm not a politician and I’ve never run for office. I’m a writer, activist, and self-employed IT/Web guy living in rural western Massachusetts. For many years I’ve argued in my Berkshire Eagle column and elsewhere for transformational political change. And I’ve used creative ways to help advance ideas for a democracy and economy that work for everyone.

I’m grateful to be running for Congress at a time when Americans are speaking out about the root causes of our political and economic dysfunction. The lie that “campaign money has no effect on the legislative process” is melting away in the face of Wall Street bailouts, marginal reform, and inaction on pressing issues that matter to all of us.

In the coming weeks and months, I'll do what most candidates don’t: Speak out boldly and specifically on a full range of issues. I’ll post frequently on my campaign website and Facebook page. But it won’t be consultant-drafted gibberish or safe, empty platitudes like “let’s get America moving again!” Because it's time for us to have the broad conversations that big money prevents. And have campaigns that don't insult the intelligence of voters.

I'll visit every city and town in the new First Congressional District to meet and listen to real people, not just political insiders and big campaign donors. I'll ask as many questions as I answer. And I’ll use the same knowledge, creativity, and humor that has informed my writing and activism to challenge everything about the way politics is played and campaigns are run. We've had enough of the old ways; they just won't do.

With your help, we’ll build a volunteer-driven campaign that works neighbor-to-neighbor and community-by-community across western Massachusetts. Together, we’ll launch a new politics fueled not by big money, but instead, by active, caring, and empowered citizens.

Bill Shein
Alford, Massachusetts
January 16, 2012

(Keep up with press coverage of the campaign.)