Clean Elections Pennsylvania

A majority of Pennsylvania's Members of Congress have indicated support for publicly funded elections. What about your representatives and the other candidates for Congress in the 2008 Pennsylvania primary?

A majority of Pennsylvania's Members of Congress have indicated support for publicly funded elections.
What about your representatives and the other candidates for Congress in the 2008 Pennsylvania primary?


"Clean Elections" is a system of voluntary public financing of election campaigns in which any citizen who can demonstrate significant support in their community can receive public money to finance their campaign for public office. [HOW IT WORKS] The Clean Elections system is already working in Arizona and Maine providing an alternative source of campaign funding for candidates who do not want to be dependent on favor seeking, self-interested lobbyists. In the U.S. Senate, Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter and Illinois Senator Richard Durbin have in introduced the Fair Elections Now Act (S. 1285), to establish publicly funded elections for the U.S. Senate. In the House of Representatives, a companion bill, the Clean Money, Clean Elections Act (H.R. 1614), has been introduced. It is co-sponsored by Pennsylvania Congressmen Todd Platts, Chaka Fattah, and Joe Sestak. Our current system of privately funded elections is fundamentally undemocratic because incumbent office holders have something that their challengers do not have; the ability to vote in Washington (or Harrisburg) on matters of great importance to the small number of self-interested people who finance our privately funded elections. [SEE WHO IS PAYING FOR YOUR REPRESENTATIVE'S CAMPAIGN IN WASHINGTON AND HARRISBURG.] This mixture of elected officials, who desperately need money for their re-election campaigns, and lobbyists, who are more than willing to provide that money, produces an environment where corruption flourishes. Clean Elections allows elections to be about the candidate's ideas and character. Clean Elections allows incumbents to serve the public and frees them from their dependency on self-interested lobbyists. And it promotes fair competition on Election Day, something we don't have now. [MORE]
Sit back, watch, and learn about PUBLICLY FUNDED ELECTIONS	*When elections are not competitive, incumbents are not accountable to the citizens.* *When incumbents are not accountable to the citizens, our democracy is broken.*
YouTube - Bill Moyers and"Clean Elections: Changing the Face of America"	Most of the people who have the power to bring about Clean Elections, that is, our elected officials, do not have the motivation to do it - the current system of privately funded elections works great for them! Only we, the citizens, have both the motivation to demand change and the power to make it happen.
Even if you believe that your elected official is incorruptible, clearly there are many in Harrisburg and Washington who are not. Elected officials who are doing a good job should have nothing to fear. Ask them to step forward and be part of the solution!
Campaign financing is a complicated subject but the saying "He who pays the piper, calls the tune." sums it up pretty well. And as long as the few are paying the piper, our elected officials are going to be dancing to their tune. And they will keep on dancing, and ignoring the rest of us, until we make them stop!
Politicians need to hear from us! [START HERE]

"Clean Elections" is a system of voluntary public financing of election campaigns in which any citizen who can demonstrate significant support in their community can receive public money to finance their campaign for public office. [HOW IT WORKS]

The Clean Elections system is already working in Arizona and Maine providing an alternative source of campaign funding for candidates who do not want to be dependent on favor seeking, self-interested lobbyists.

In the U.S. Senate, Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter and Illinois Senator Richard Durbin have in introduced the Fair Elections Now Act (S. 1285), to establish publicly funded elections for the U.S. Senate. In the House of Representatives, a companion bill, the Clean Money, Clean Elections Act (H.R. 1614), has been introduced. It is co-sponsored by Pennsylvania Congressmen Todd Platts, Chaka Fattah, and Joe Sestak.

Our current system of privately funded elections is fundamentally undemocratic because incumbent office holders have something that their challengers do not have; the ability to vote in Washington (or Harrisburg) on matters of great importance to the small number of self-interested people who finance our privately funded elections. [SEE WHO IS PAYING FOR YOUR REPRESENTATIVE'S CAMPAIGN IN WASHINGTON AND HARRISBURG.]

This mixture of elected officials, who desperately need money for their re-election campaigns, and lobbyists, who are more than willing to provide that money, produces an environment where corruption flourishes.

Clean Elections allows elections to be about the candidate's ideas and character. Clean Elections allows incumbents to serve the public and frees them from their dependency on self-interested lobbyists. And it promotes fair competition on Election Day, something we don't have now. [MORE]

Sit back, watch, and learn about PUBLICLY FUNDED ELECTIONS

When elections are not competitive, incumbents are not accountable to the citizens.

When incumbents are not accountable to the citizens, our democracy is broken.

YouTube - Bill Moyers and"Clean Elections: Changing
the Face of America"

Most of the people who have the power to bring about Clean Elections, that is, our elected officials, do not have the motivation to do it - the current system of privately funded elections works great for them! Only we, the citizens, have both the motivation to demand change and the power to make it happen.

Even if you believe that your elected official is incorruptible, clearly there are many in Harrisburg and Washington who are not. Elected officials who are doing a good job should have nothing to fear. Ask them to step forward and be part of the solution!

Campaign financing is a complicated subject but the saying "He who pays the piper, calls the tune." sums it up pretty well. And as long as the few are paying the piper, our elected officials are going to be dancing to their tune. And they will keep on dancing, and ignoring the rest of us, until we make them stop!

Politicians need to hear from us! [START HERE]