Every major challenge facing America is caught in the grip of Big Money

Washington is broken. You know it because you still can’t get a job. Or because the government is spending our tax dollars irresponsibly. Or because, as Wall Street knows, “financial reform” was a joke.

At the root of all these problems — and so many more — are special interests using money to control politics and manipulate the priorities of our government.

United Republic (UR) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization leading a groundbreaking campaign to confront and reform the undue influence of special interests in US politics. In November, 2013, UR is launched a bold grassroots campaign to get millions of Americans – from Occupy to the Tea Party – actively supporting comprehensive legislation to reshape American politics. The law would overhaul campaign finance, lobbying/quid-pro-quo and transparency laws. UR wants a political system in which the needs and ideas of the many aren’t drowned out by the influence of the wealthy few.

Big Money’s domination of politics and policymaking has gotten much worse in recent years. U.S. Supreme Court decisions have not only stood in the way of common-sense reforms but also have actually knocked down many of the remaining safeguards against large-scale corruption.

Unless we all work hard together to reverse these trends, we risk losing the republic that our Constitution so compellingly outlines.

So what can be done? First step, simply put: We have to make the buying and selling of American democracy the #1 issue in this country. To do that, we need to connect money in politics to every major problem we face; we need to fight politicians when they do the work of lobbyists at the expense of their voters; we need to expose how the rigged system hurts ordinary Americans and hampers entrepreneurs; we need to create a supercharged coalition of people from the left, right and center who are determined to win; we need to support the passage of city and state laws and resolutions that show Washington and the state capitals that a tidal wave of reform is heading their way; and then we need to bundle all our energy into a major national victory that delivers lasting change.

Already our coalition is growing. In November 2011, we joined forces with Get Money Out, founded by MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan, and Rootstrikers, founded by Harvard professor Lawrence Lessig, both of which share our goal of ending the domination of Big Money over the political process. Our current membership base is 300,000 strong, and quickly growing.

We hope you’ll join us, too.

We look forward to fighting by your side.