"We may have democracy, or we may have vast wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." -- Justice Louis Brandeis
"The practice of democracy is not transferred through the gene pool. It must be taught and learned anew by each generation of citizens." -- Justice Sandra Day O'Connor
Minnesota Citizens for Clean Elections (MnCCE) is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that promotes electoral and government policies which reflect the will of the people and not the power of money.
View the Trailer for the film Dark Money
After clicking on the arrow to view the video, you may need to turn up the sound by (1) moving your mouse pointer over the image and (2) clicking on speaker icon in the lower right of the video.
This movie about the dire effects for democracy of Citizens United as illustrated by events in the microcosm of Montana politics, was shown as part of the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival on April 22 and 23, 2018. For once, audience applause in a movie theater was not like the proverbial tree falling in the forest: Director Kimberly Reed was there to hear. It is, indeed, "A densely packed documentary that earnestly and obsessively addresses campaign finance reform, its history, and vital importance." -- Hollywood Reporter. If you missed it, or want to see it again, the film will appear in theaters on July 13, and on PBS this fall.
Saturday, May 5: Clean Elections Monthly Meeting Slide Presentation
Peter Wattson gave an informative and entertaining presentation on partisan gerrymandering at our May meeting. You can review the slides by clicking here.
Thursday June 14: Clean Elections Monthly Meeting
New time, new format, and new location: 1 PM - 2:30 PM in the Community Room (upstairs) of Byerlys just south of Southdale in Edina, 7171 France Avenue South. Unlike previous meetings, this will be a working session to prepare mailings to 2018 candidates of a 3-question survey about clean elections issues. Results will be published in newspapers in candidates' locales. Bringing a laptop to work on would be useful, but it's not required If attending on your lunch hour, you can eat food purchased on site but rules prohibit bringing a lunch. The community room includes a wine bar.
Wednesday, May 23: Book Club Begins a New Chapter
The third round of "Dark Money" Club Meetings begins this week, noon - 1:30, Wednesday May 23, at Saint Joan of Arc Church, 4537 3rd Ave. So, Minneapolis. Come and help us decide where the club goes from here--another book? other media productions? another format? The organizing question will remain the same: How can citizens act together to stop the erosion of democracy by the forces of big-money special interests? For more information, contact Mary Morris, hayesmorris@gmail.com.
Watch Jeff Clements's talk about Reclaiming Democracy on MTN
If you missed the talk in February and subsequently on SPNN and MTN's Channel 16, by clicking here you can watch the presentation delivered in February by Jeff Clements, president and co-founder of American Promise and author of Corporations Are Not People. In the St. Paul studio of SPNN in February, Mr Clements explained the need to amend the US Constitution to reverse the effects of Citizens United. American Promise is a cross-partisan network of Americans working to establish the 28th Amendment to the Constitution "to end the tyranny of big money and special interests in our elections and government." An attorney, Jeff has been a partner in a major Boston law firm and has served as Assistant Attorney General and Chief of the public law enforcement bureau in the office of the Attorney General of Massachusetts. Clean Elections Minnesota co-sponsored the event. SPNN broadcast the proceedings; they will also be available on You Tube.
June 26, 6-8 p.m.: "Filing Extension: Tax Rally 2018."
The original Tax Day Rally, sponsored by Tax March MN, was scheduled to occur on Sunday, April 15, but was cancelled because of the late winter storm. It has now been rescheduled. More details will appear here as they become available. The scheduled speakers at the original event were Clean Elections MN Chair George Beck, MN State Senator John Marty, and University of MN Professor of Corporate Law Richard Painter, who is now a candidate for US Senator from Minnesota. Painter was Chief White House Ethics Counsel during George W. Bush's presidency.
Make a Difference!
Act now to support an effort in Minnesota to overturn the Supreme Court's disastrous decision in Citizens United. Follow the link to a Clean Elections resolution to present to leaders in your municipality. For more information, contact Jim Herrick, jherrick512@gmail.com.