Seems like every time we turn our heads, someone’s proposing a new constitutional amendment to fix the money in politics problem. We were a little overwhelmed at the sheer number of ‘em, and started to feel like idiots. So we created this handy cheat sheet.

Legalized political bribery?

Here’s the miserable truth about our current political system: Corporations and individuals can spend unlimited amounts of money, in total secrecy, to sway elections and buy access to politicians. The courts have given them this power, allowing them to manipulate, strong-arm, and essentially bribe our government.

The good news: We’re not the only ones who know that this is a serious problem. Nearly 80 percent of Americans think our democracy is being bought and sold. Tens of millions of people know that something needs to be done about it. Something big. Now.

Like what? If we really want to fix the problem — not just tinker — we need to amend the Constitution.

Why? Because, otherwise, most laws that could be passed to fix the problem will be shot down by the courts (more on that later).

Background

Past efforts to limit political contributions and spending have focused on passing campaign finance reform laws (you may have heard of the most recent, the 2002 McCain-Feingold reform law). These efforts were well-intentioned, but were either too small to accomplish anything or were undermined by the courts, so they all failed to really fix the problem. How do we know? Lots of ways. But here’s one example: The 2012 elections are projected to see an infusion of over $6 billion into the political process. That’s a new record. Four times higher than what was spent in 2002, and almost double that of 2004!

This surge in funding is partly due to the Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling on Citizens United (now there’s an ironic name if we’ve ever heard one). That ruling says that corporations have the same free speech rights as people, and that political spending is like speech, enabling unlimited spending by corporations and unions. A later ruling then allowed corporations to contribute endless amounts of cash to the political system, which has helped create these new monsters called super PACs. Super PACs can raise endless amounts of money from corporations, unions, and individuals, and mount attacks against whomever they want.

Billions of dollars a year pour into politics &em; through super PACs, lobbying firms, political parties, think tanks, PR firms, fake grassroots groups, unions, wealthy individuals, and companies protecting their interests &em; often at the expense of the public interest.

Lobbyists love this system. The rest of us, not so much.

Washington has become an auction. If you want something, you better be willing to pay for it (but be forewarned: Lobbyists and elections aren’t cheap). Dirty coal companies buy dirty pollution laws. Big banks buy big bailouts and then block financial reform. Giant corporations outsource jobs and often get tax breaks to do so.

And what about we, the people? Our voices and ideas get drowned out. As a result, our system of government is no longer capable of solving the most pressing problems of our time.

And as long as the courts keep thinking the way they have about corporations as people and money as speech, the auction will continue. That’s why we have to go straight to the Constitution and create laws that the courts will be forced to uphold.

How to Amend

There are two ways to amend the Constitution, but only one of them has been used in the past. An amendment can be passed by a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives, and then ratified by three-quarters of the 50 states. That’s some heavy lifting by any count, but it’s the only way the Constitution has ever been amended before.

The second has never been done, but some believe it’s the only way to fix the money-in-politics problem. Two-thirds of the state legislatures officially vote to hold a Constitutional convention, where representatives from each state gather, and amendments are proposed. Once the convention proposes one or more amendments, then three-quarters of the 50 states must ratify them.

Amending is intentionally a difficult process. Thousands of amendments have been proposed over the years, but only 27 have been ratified and made into law.

There are lots of victories we need along the path to amending the Constitution. See one idea here.

Nearly 80 percent of Americans now agree it’s time to get money out.

So let us begin.

Did we miss your organization’s amendment proposal? Email it to us at info@unitedrepublic.org.