Jim Rubens, a former New Hampshire state senator and current American Promise Advisory Council Member, has been making the conservative case for a Constitutional amendment to get big money out of politics for years. In a recent op-ed to mark the 10th anniversary of the disastrous Citizens United Supreme Court decision, Jim explains what the court got wrong and how the ensuing effects of the case have undermined traditional conservative principles, including federalism and capitalism.

Jim notes that congressional Republicans have not flocked to join their Democratic counterparts in calling for an amendment to overturn Citizens United, despite widespread cross-partisan citizen support for such an amendment. Similarly, he writes, Democrats have not, in large numbers, advocated for a Constitutional amendment to establish term limits, again despite overwhelming cross-partisan support among Americans. He proposes a solution.

“The way out of dead-end congressional partisanship on both amendments is a grand bargain: a fresh resolution combining campaign anti-corruption and term limits amendment language introduced with a significant and equal number of Republican and Democratic co-sponsors,” he writes. “These amendments should be considered by the states for potential ratification as separate questions.”

Read the rest of his op-ed here!

Amid growing frustration with pay-to-play politics, it has become clear that most Americans are united in opposition to the big money system. American Promise has been successfully growing our movement and increasing pressure in Congress, but work remains. One effective way to build support in Congress is to reach out with candidates for election and re-election, and ask them to sign the American Promise Candidate Pledge, through which they pledge to use their office to support the 28th Amendment. Find out more about the pledge.