Acknowledgments

Most of the ideas, strategies, and tactics in this book are not mine. I am indebted to countless Americans who came before me, innovating their way toward self-government. My contribution, hopefully, is to apply these ideas to our current crisis of money in politics. There are some Americans in particular I should thank for advancing the idea that “We the People” should overturn our Supreme Court and its misguided ruling that money is speech.

This book is dedicated to Senator Ernest “Fritz” Hollings, who was first elected on a campaign budget of $100 and who became the leading champion of a constitutional amendment to limit big money in politics during his time in the US Senate. For years, Senator Hollings quite literally carried an amendment in his suit pocket, ready to lay it on the desk of the Senate when a procedural opportunity arose. Thanks also go to his loyal staffer, Joey Lesesne.

This book is in memory of Larry Hansen, Harry Lonsdale, and Bob Edgar—none of whom lived to see Buckley reversed but each of whom inspired many of us to keep trying.

Thanks to fellow travelers John Bonifaz, Jon Goldin-Dubois, Karen Hobert Flynn, Adam Lioz, Pete Maysmith, Kai Newkirk, and Brenda Wright. May this book push you forward as much as you have lifted me.

Voters in Montana, Colorado, Massachusetts, and California and in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago would not have had the chance to instruct Congress on this issue without the work and perseverance of C. B. Pearson, Matt Leow, and Jon Motl of Stand with Montanans; Elena Nunez and Arn Pearson of Common Cause; Faye Park of the Public Interest Network; Annie Sanders of Colorado Fair Share; San Francisco supervisor John Avalos; California senator Ted Lieu; California assembly member Bob Wieckowski; Los Angeles city councilor Richard Alarcon; California Common Cause organizer Anjuli Kronheim; Richmond city councilor Jim Rogers; Pam Wilmot and Tyler Creighton of Massachusetts Common Cause; Rey Lopez Calderon, Brian Gladstein, and Benjamin Singer of Common Cause Illinois; and Michele Sutter and the whole gang at the Money Out Voters In coalition. Special thanks to Fred Woocher, Ron Rein, Steve Meyer, and Tom Donnelly for their efforts to get California’s Proposition 49 back on the ballot.

Americans owe a debt to David Cobb, Caitlin Sopaci-Belknap, Kaja Rebane, and hundreds more for their truly tireless work at Move to Amend, as well as Donna Edwards and Craig McDonald for their pioneering work at the Center for a New Democracy (and subsequent bigger and better things).

Thanks to the many people whose support or adversity steeled my resolve to push this issue forward and helped sharpen the issue (some of whom may not agree with everything in this book), including Margie Alt, Susan Anderson, Marge Baker, Matt Baker, Craig Barnes, Emmet Bondurant, James Bopp, Kathay Feng, Gene Karpinski, Lisa Graves, Michael Keegan, Michael Keischnick, Art Lipson, Susan Lerner, Tom Lopach, Mitch McConnell, Burt Neuborne, Nick Nyhart, Miles Rapoport, Jamie Raskin, Robert Reich, Will Robinson, Josh Rosenkranz, Steve Silberstein, Stephen Spaulding, Bob Stern, Mary and Sarah Stranahan, Phillip Ung, Alan and Jan Weirsba, Rob Weissman, Wendy Wendlandt, and Tracy Western.

Although this is not an academic book, the ideas in it have been influenced by several scholars who have documented and explained American traditions of self-governance, including Bruce Ackerman, Akhil Reed Amar, Larry Kramer, Richard Parker, and Mark Tushnet. Special thanks to James MacGregor Burns, who taught both the skills of book writing and fundamental aspects of American democracy and leadership at Williams College.

This book would never have happened without the support and encouragement of Jeff Clements, my wife Deniz, and Neal Maillet of Berrett-Koehler. And finally, this book would have been less clear without the masterful work of Jon S. Ford and Jonathan Peck to hone and polish the manuscript. Thank you.