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Revision as of 11:10, 6 March 2015

Wolf PAC
FormationOctober 2011
FounderCenk Uygur
TypePolitical action committee
HeadquartersLos Angeles[1]
Executive Director
Ryan Clayton[2]
Organizing Director
Mike Monetta[3]
Websitewolf-pac.com

Wolf PAC is an American political action committee formed in 2011 with the goal of "ending corporate personhood and publicly financing all elections in our country", to include the restriction of large monetary donations to political candidates, parties, and groups.[4][5] It began with an announcement at an Occupy Wall Street rally in New York City by The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur.[6]

Its strategy is to add a 28th amendment to the Constitution, thereby overturning multiple Supreme Court cases including Citizens United v. FEC and Buckley v. Valeo, which cumulatively have made it impossible to achieve Wolf PAC's campaign finance goals through simple legislation. Wolf PAC believes that Congress is too corrupt to pass such an amendment itself, and therefore advocates a convention of the States, which is a procedure outlined in Article V of the Constitution. As of February 2015, four out of the necessary thirty-four states have passed resolutions calling for such a convention.

Formation and background

On January 21, 2010, the Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United v. FEC that it is unconstitutional to restrict independent expenditures by corporations, unions, and other associations.[7] This ruling was followed in March by the D.C. District Court of Appeals Speechnow.org v. FEC case, in which the court explicitly allowed the creation of Super PACs, which are allowed to spend unlimited money to influence elections, as long as they do not coordinate with any candidates.[8]

These court cases are widely viewed as having worsened the influence of moneyed interests in the American political system,[9] and convinced Cenk Uygur, the host of the online news show The Young Turks, that action was necessary.[10] Although the paperwork to form Wolf PAC was filed with the FEC as early as June 2010,[11] Uygur announced the creation of Wolf PAC on October 19, 2011 during the Occupy Wall Street occupation of Zucotti Park in New York City.[12]

Progress in particular states

As a national group, it is assumed Wolf PAC is working in all 50 states though there is no source evidence to prove this claim. The chart below shows the progress level in each state that has introduced a Wolf PAC-backed resolution.

State Introduced Bill(s) Lower house Upper house Status
 California December 3, 2012 AJR 1[13] passed (January 30, 2014) passed (June 23, 2014) passed
 Illinois October 22, 2013 SJR 42[14] passed (December 3, 2014) passed (April 9, 2014) passed
 New Jersey August 11, 2014 SCR 132[15] / ACR 149[16] passed (February 23, 2015) passed (December 18, 2014) passed
 Vermont April 16, 2013 JRS 27[17] passed (March 21, 2014) passed (May 2, 2014) passed
 New Hampshire January 7, 2015 HCR 2[18] passed (March 5, 2015)

Vermont

On March 21, 2014, the Vermont Senate passed JRS 27, a Wolf PAC-backed resolution, in a bipartisan 25 to 2 vote.[19] On May 2, 2014, the Vermont House passed the resolution, making Vermont the first state in the nation to call for an Article V convention concerning campaign finance reform.[20]

California

On March 20, 2012, a Wolf PAC-backed resolution was introduced in the California State Assembly, but was voted down in the Judiciary Committee.[21] On January 30, 2014, the California State Assembly became the second state lower chamber to pass Wolf PAC's bill calling for a constitutional convention. On June 23, 2014, California became the second state in the nation to pass Wolf PAC's resolution.[22]

Illinois

On December 3, 2014, the Illinois Senate voted on SJR42, which passed the needed 3/5ths majority by one vote, 72 to 40, becoming the third state to call for the convention.

New Jersey

A resolution to call for a constitutional convention to overturn Citizens United was introduced on 11 August 2014. It passed the Senate on 18 December 2014 and the Assembly on 23 February 2015.

Other states

In March 2013, efforts in Texas included a bill[23] by representative Lon Burnam which called for the Convention.[24] There have been efforts directed at Connecticut to request a convention.[25]

See also

References

  1. ^ "COMMITTEE DETAILS FOR COMMITTEE ID C00485102". Federal Elections Commission. Retrieved 2014-08-21.
  2. ^ "Interview - Wolf-PAC's New Leadership". YouTube. 2013-08-05. Retrieved 2014-05-03.
  3. ^ "How Wolf-PAC Changes Minds - Money Out of Politics! (w/ Mike Monetta)". 2014-05-16. Retrieved 2014-08-21.
  4. ^ The Plan, official Wolf PAC web site, Accessed May 4, 2014.
  5. ^ Katerina Nikolas, Nov 9, 2011 in World, Digital Journal, Wolf-PAC.com: Proposal to prevent corporations buying politicians, Accessed Jan. 15, 2014, “...In October, Cenk Uygur, ... announced the launch of Wolf-PAK during Occupy Wall Street protests. Wolf-PAK is a political action committee with a mission to pass the 28th Amendment to prevent corporations buying politicians...”
  6. ^ The Young Turks (October 19, 2011). "Cenk Announces Wolf-PAC.com at Occupy Wall Street". YouTube. Retrieved June 14, 2014.
  7. ^ "Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission". The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  8. ^ "Speechnow.org v. FEC". Federal Election Commission. Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  9. ^ "In Supreme Court Ruling on Campaign Finance, the Public Dissents". ABC News. Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  10. ^ 9780002183987
  11. ^ "Statement of Organization" (PDF). Federal Elections Commission. Retrieved 2014-08-21.
  12. ^ Blumenthal, Paul (20 October 2011). "Cenk Uygur Launches New Effort To Separate Money And Politics". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  13. ^ http://openstates.org/ca/bills/20132014/AJR1/ Info for bill AJR 1.
  14. ^ http://openstates.org/il/bills/98th/SJR42/ Info for bill SJR 42.
  15. ^ http://openstates.org/nj/bills/216/SCR132/ Info for bill SCR 132.
  16. ^ http://openstates.org/nj/bills/216/ACR149/
  17. ^ http://openstates.org/vt/bills/2013-2014/JRS27/ Info for bill JRS 27.
  18. ^ http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/bill_status.aspx?lsr=135
  19. ^ "Will This Be The First State To Help Get Money Out Of Politics?". YouTube. Retrieved 2014-05-03.
  20. ^ MORGAN TRUE, 05/03/2014, Brattleboro Reformer, Vermont first state to call for constitutional convention to get money out of politics, Accessed May 5, 2014, "...Vermont became the first state to call for a convention to amend the U.S. Constitution to reverse the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision ... Monetta is the organizing director for Wolf PAC...
  21. ^ California AJR 32 http://openstates.org/ca/bills/20112012/AJR32/
  22. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6k7cL3z0Bk
  23. ^ Note: Texas bill is H.J.R. 94, formerly H.C.R. 25.
  24. ^ http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/tlodocs/83R/billtext/pdf/HJ00094I.pdf#navpanes=0
  25. ^ Thomas MacMillan (2012-02-22). "Mr. Hausladen Takes On Mr. Corporation". New Haven Independent. Retrieved 2014-05-03.
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