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By Nadin Abbott
February 29, 2011 (San Diego)--David Cobb from Move to Amend came to San Diego on a barnstorming tour . The organization aims to get money out of politics and to amend the Constitution to end corporate personhood.
This event took place at the Peace Resource Center and was attended by about 400 people. It was organized by Women Occupy San Diego.
Cobb told the audience that "righteous anger" leads to mobilization and taking action. He said that corporations, through use of corporate lawyers, are able to overturn laws in the courts, by claiming the rights of individuals. As he put it, "Corporate CEO's are ruling us. They are deciding our energy policy" as well as other policies.
This fight for who is a legal person is the essential arc of U.S. history. When the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1789, only five percent of American males were legal persons for all intents and purposes. The fight against slavery was about expanding this definition. Women's franchise further expanded voting and other rights for women.
But court rulings granting “personahood” rights to corporations, along with corporate rights to spend virtually unlimited amounts on elections, have undermined our democracy, Cobb believes.
Today we are in a "democratic movement" with a goal to make sure that humans are dominant over corporations, he indicated. The movement is not anit-corporate, but believes that corporations should not be entitled to the same rights as individual people.
Corporations have a place in society; during the Roman Republic they were used to build roads, hospitals and the aqueduct system--projects for the public good.
In the first 75 years of the United States, corporate charters were given for very narrow reasons. They also did not last beyond a few years, and had to be chartered through a process similar to that of passing a bill in the Legislature. Today the process is very easy. A few hundred dollars and a few forms is all that it takes, and taking away a corporate charter is almost impossible.
Cobb also emphasized that "there is nothing romantic about modern trans-national corporations.”
Move to Amend is part of the democratic movement, which is currently represented by long-standing government watchdog groups such as Common Cause, but also the Occupy movement and potentially, the Tea Party movement.. The brilliance of the Occupy Movement, in Cobb's view, is that participants were able to change the conversation since they refuse to leave. He also emphasized that it is not just the Occupy Movement but also the Tea Party Movement whose members are angry over corporate influence on government; he suggests people should reach across the aisle and work together for change.
Government is subordinated to we the people, according to the Constitution which states that "all power resides with the people." We of course delegate some power to the government as needed for the common good. But we are in a situation where Corporate Personhood has given corporate lawyers the ability to "overthrow laws passed for the common good,” Cobb indicated.
Move to Amend seeks to remove money out of politics, including both corporate and union monies currently pouring into campaigns and instead, have publicly funded elections. The long-term goal is to remove corporate personhood--iIn short, "to abolish corporate rights," Cobb concluded.
For more information: http://movetoamend.org/
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