24:
749:
Rootstrikers, a left-wing group dedicated to the proposition that corporate money has a malign influence on
American politics, and the conservative Tea Party Patriots had banded together to organize a Conference on the Constitutional Convention. The progressive left and the populist right would spend
314:
was the keynote speaker. The agenda included presentations by other experts, including Greg Colvin, who provided a dozen questions that he thought should be answered for any proposed amendment on this issue. The conference web site also includes a comparison chart of 21 alternative amendments, 18
319:. Of the proposed amendments, five were identified as primarily attempting to limit the constitutional rights of corporations; the other 16 were described as dealing more with campaign finance, though there is overlap. The conference ended with breakout sessions and a call to further action.
587:"Guardian Activate 2011: Live coverage from New York: Guardian Activate summit makes its overseas debut in the Big Apple, featuring an extra-special array of speakers primed to change the world through the internet"
264:
795:
248:
reaffirmation that when the
Declaration of Independence spoke of entities "endowed by their Creator with unalienable Rights," it was speaking of natural persons only, and not corporations.
564:
472:...Lessig led with this Thoreau quote that inspired the name of his Rootstrikers campaign: "There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root."...
691:
1097:
459:
1112:
328:
303:. (Twenty-seven of them have been ratified and are now part of the Constitution.) As of 2016 the convention process has never been used for proposing constitutional amendments.
1107:
364:
538:
428:
501:
272:
594:
766:
398:
1020:
1102:
930:
792:
736:
1040:
846:
659:
560:
292:
699:
451:
226:. The pledge is available for people to sign to show their support for the fight against corruption. The Pledge has four provisions:
954:
770:
284:
188:
and suggested that the public needs to strike at the root of money in politics; Stewart advised Lessig "You need a better term than
306:
Rootstrikers is one of 15 organizations in the Money Out / Voters In coalition that sponsored "A 28th
Amendment" conference at the
617:
102:
923:
243:
356:
1071:
530:
420:
315:
that have already been introduced in the US congress plus language proposed by Free Speech for People, Greg Colvin, and
148:
dedicated to challenging the influence of money in
American politics. As of July 2013, Rootstrikers became a project of
491:
586:
276:
390:
112:
and reducing the role of special interest money in elections. According to Lessig, the idea is not to hack at the
875:
727:
1117:
916:
816:
299:. Thirty-three amendments to the U.S. Constitution have been approved by Congress and sent to the states for
722:
280:
239:
52:
663:
263:
held a "Conference on the
Constitutional Convention" in hopes of generating support for the calling of a
839:
391:"Jack Abramoff Does Not Know How He Will Pay Back $ 44 Million, Will Not Go On 'Dancing With The Stars'"
271:. Such a convention, also called an "Article V Convention", is one of two ways processes authorized by
616:
Mornin, Joseph (16 November 2011). "Rootstrikers and United
Republic: A letter from Lawrence Lessig".
279:
whereby the
Constitution, the nation's frame of government, may be altered, and must be called by the
296:
970:
962:
193:
164:
145:
137:
1046:
307:
260:
105:
90:
220:. Lessig launched the Pledge as a project of Rootstrikers on February 24, 2012, on MSNBC's show
120:, which Lessig views as a corrupt campaign finance system, and hence he named the organization
1053:
978:
628:
268:
1066:
1060:
132:
Rootstrikers was founded in April 2011. In
November 2011, Rootstrikers, previously known as
1035:
1002:
939:
799:
762:
655:
641:
496:
311:
212:
149:
133:
94:
86:
42:
1076:
994:
259:
Over the weekend of
October 29, 2011, a coalition of Rootstrikers and the conservative
180:
176:
There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root
82:
1091:
526:
487:
316:
288:
109:
23:
986:
622:
Again and again, I have been driven back to a favorite line in
Thoreau's Walden ...
300:
153:
333:
222:
185:
108:
worker and consultant) for the purpose of fighting political corruption in the
1025:
157:
98:
141:
136:
and Fix Congress First, became a project of United Republic, a non-partisan
692:"Tom Ashbrook and a Panel Discussing Pushing Back on Money Politics, 2012"
287:. Amendments may also be proposed by Congress itself with a two-thirds
732:
163:
The name "Rootstrikers" is based on a quote from the first chapter of
561:"Announcing Rootstrikers' Merger with Demand Progress - Rootstrikers"
198:
169:
140:. In September 2012, Rootstrikers reorganized under the umbrella of
531:"The OccupyUSA Blog for Wednesday (Dec. 14), With Frequent Updates"
908:
871:
912:
812:
901:
750:
two days together studying Article V of the U.S. Constitution.
421:"Report from the Conference on the Constitutional Convention"
452:"Lawrence Lessig on Politics and Awakening a Sleeping Giant"
235:
political expenditures which are limited and transparent
156:, an internet activist. The organization plans to use
329:
Second Constitutional Convention of the United States
283:
upon the request of two-thirds (presently 34) of the
62:
Reducing the corrosive influence of money in politics
1013:
946:
419:Lawrence Lessig; David Segal (September 30, 2011).
66:
58:
48:
38:
30:
840:"How to Choose? So Many Constitutional Amendments"
178:". In December 2011, Lawrence Lessig appeared on
793:"Balanced budget amendment push sparks debate"
1098:Economic advocacy groups in the United States
924:
192:." Lessig credits the line quoted above from
8:
1113:Electoral reform groups in the United States
767:National Archives and Records Administration
16:
931:
917:
909:
685:
683:
681:
22:
15:
521:
519:
482:
480:
350:
348:
1108:2011 establishments in the United States
1041:Stanford Center for Internet and Society
85:grassroots activist organization run by
721:Antle, W. James III (2 November 2011).
344:
267:to propose proposing amendments to the
116:of the problem but rather focus on its
819:from the original on November 16, 2012
773:from the original on November 21, 2015
763:"The Constitutional Amendment Process"
637:
626:
597:from the original on December 20, 2018
431:from the original on December 11, 2011
878:from the original on November 3, 2012
355:Lawrence Lessig (December 20, 2011).
216:, Lessig proposes what he termed the
7:
450:Stempeck, Matt (February 27, 2012).
852:from the original on March 4, 2016
739:from the original on 19 April 2013
389:Greenwood, Arin (March 20, 2012).
238:ending the revolving door between
14:
1103:Organizations established in 2011
955:Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace
585:Halliday, Josh (April 28, 2011).
541:from the original on May 27, 2012
504:from the original on June 5, 2012
462:from the original on May 31, 2012
367:from the original on May 13, 2012
357:"The Great Promise of Super-PACs"
802:, USA Today (November 29, 2011).
492:"On Our Way to Climbing Everest"
735:/The American Ideas Institute.
567:from the original on 2014-07-14
401:from the original on 2012-06-24
310:, Saturday, November 17, 2012.
152:, an organization cofounded by
1:
1072:Citizen Equality Act of 2017
690:Homan, Nate (May 21, 2012).
1134:
1021:2016 presidential campaign
277:United States Constitution
872:"FreeSpeechforPeople.org"
728:The American Conservative
232:publicly funded elections
21:
723:"Rebooting the Republic"
293:House of Representatives
202:for inspiring the name.
160:to help engage people.
97:and political activist
281:United States Congress
218:Anti-Corruption Pledge
146:501(c)(3) organization
138:501(c)(4) organization
53:Nonprofit organization
529:(December 14, 2011).
490:(December 15, 2011).
377:Founder, Rootstrikers
142:Fund for the Republic
963:The Future of Ideas
813:"A 28th Amendment?"
265:national convention
194:Henry David Thoreau
165:Henry David Thoreau
18:
1047:Eldred v. Ashcroft
798:2018-11-19 at the
308:UCLA School of Law
285:state legislatures
261:Tea Party Patriots
91:Harvard Law School
1085:
1084:
1054:Kahle v. Gonzales
979:Code: Version 2.0
636:Missing or empty
269:U.S. Constitution
210:In his 2012 book
76:
75:
1125:
1067:Creative Commons
1061:The Wake Up Call
933:
926:
919:
910:
905:
904:
902:Official website
888:
887:
885:
883:
868:
862:
861:
859:
857:
851:
844:
835:
829:
828:
826:
824:
809:
803:
789:
783:
782:
780:
778:
759:
753:
752:
746:
744:
718:
712:
711:
709:
707:
698:. Archived from
687:
676:
675:
673:
671:
666:on June 27, 2009
662:. Archived from
656:Scarborough, Joe
652:
646:
645:
639:
634:
632:
624:
613:
607:
606:
604:
602:
582:
576:
575:
573:
572:
557:
551:
550:
548:
546:
523:
514:
513:
511:
509:
484:
475:
474:
469:
467:
447:
441:
440:
438:
436:
416:
410:
409:
407:
406:
386:
380:
379:
374:
372:
352:
26:
19:
1133:
1132:
1128:
1127:
1126:
1124:
1123:
1122:
1118:Lawrence Lessig
1088:
1087:
1086:
1081:
1036:Change Congress
1009:
1003:One Way Forward
942:
940:Lawrence Lessig
937:
900:
899:
896:
891:
881:
879:
870:
869:
865:
855:
853:
849:
842:
837:
836:
832:
822:
820:
811:
810:
806:
800:Wayback Machine
790:
786:
776:
774:
761:
760:
756:
742:
740:
720:
719:
715:
705:
703:
702:on May 30, 2012
689:
688:
679:
669:
667:
654:
653:
649:
635:
625:
618:United Republic
615:
614:
610:
600:
598:
584:
583:
579:
570:
568:
559:
558:
554:
544:
542:
525:
524:
517:
507:
505:
497:Huffington Post
486:
485:
478:
465:
463:
449:
448:
444:
434:
432:
425:Huffington Post
418:
417:
413:
404:
402:
395:Huffington Post
388:
387:
383:
370:
368:
361:Huffington Post
354:
353:
346:
342:
325:
312:Lawrence Lessig
257:
213:One Way Forward
208:
150:Demand Progress
134:Change Congress
130:
95:Lawrence Lessig
89:and created by
87:Demand Progress
72:US (nationwide)
69:
43:Lawrence Lessig
12:
11:
5:
1131:
1129:
1121:
1120:
1115:
1110:
1105:
1100:
1090:
1089:
1083:
1082:
1080:
1079:
1077:Electors Trust
1074:
1069:
1064:
1057:
1050:
1043:
1038:
1033:
1028:
1023:
1017:
1015:
1011:
1010:
1008:
1007:
999:
995:Republic, Lost
991:
983:
975:
967:
959:
950:
948:
944:
943:
938:
936:
935:
928:
921:
913:
907:
906:
895:
894:External links
892:
890:
889:
863:
838:Colvin, Greg.
830:
804:
791:Korte, Greg.
784:
754:
713:
677:
647:
608:
577:
552:
527:Mitchell, Greg
515:
488:Ratigan, Dylan
476:
442:
411:
381:
343:
341:
338:
337:
336:
331:
324:
321:
256:
253:
252:
251:
250:
249:
246:
236:
233:
207:
204:
181:The Daily Show
129:
126:
74:
73:
70:
67:
64:
63:
60:
56:
55:
50:
46:
45:
40:
36:
35:
32:
28:
27:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1130:
1119:
1116:
1114:
1111:
1109:
1106:
1104:
1101:
1099:
1096:
1095:
1093:
1078:
1075:
1073:
1070:
1068:
1065:
1062:
1058:
1056:
1055:
1051:
1049:
1048:
1044:
1042:
1039:
1037:
1034:
1032:
1029:
1027:
1024:
1022:
1019:
1018:
1016:
1012:
1005:
1004:
1000:
997:
996:
992:
989:
988:
984:
981:
980:
976:
973:
972:
968:
965:
964:
960:
957:
956:
952:
951:
949:
945:
941:
934:
929:
927:
922:
920:
915:
914:
911:
903:
898:
897:
893:
877:
873:
867:
864:
848:
841:
834:
831:
818:
814:
808:
805:
801:
797:
794:
788:
785:
772:
768:
764:
758:
755:
751:
738:
734:
730:
729:
724:
717:
714:
701:
697:
696:Concord Patch
693:
686:
684:
682:
678:
665:
661:
660:"Morning Joe"
657:
651:
648:
643:
630:
623:
619:
612:
609:
596:
592:
588:
581:
578:
566:
562:
556:
553:
540:
536:
532:
528:
522:
520:
516:
503:
499:
498:
493:
489:
483:
481:
477:
473:
461:
457:
453:
446:
443:
430:
426:
422:
415:
412:
400:
396:
392:
385:
382:
378:
366:
362:
358:
351:
349:
345:
339:
335:
332:
330:
327:
326:
322:
320:
318:
317:Move to Amend
313:
309:
304:
302:
298:
294:
290:
286:
282:
278:
274:
270:
266:
262:
254:
247:
245:
241:
237:
234:
231:
230:
229:
228:
227:
225:
224:
219:
215:
214:
205:
203:
201:
200:
195:
191:
187:
183:
182:
177:
173:
171:
166:
161:
159:
155:
151:
147:
143:
139:
135:
127:
125:
123:
119:
115:
111:
110:United States
107:
104:
100:
96:
92:
88:
84:
80:
71:
65:
61:
57:
54:
51:
47:
44:
41:
37:
33:
29:
25:
20:
1052:
1045:
1031:Rootstrikers
1030:
1001:
993:
985:
977:
971:Free Culture
969:
961:
953:
882:November 21,
880:. Retrieved
866:
856:November 21,
854:. Retrieved
833:
823:November 21,
821:. Retrieved
807:
787:
777:November 17,
775:. Retrieved
757:
748:
741:. Retrieved
726:
716:
704:. Retrieved
700:the original
695:
668:. Retrieved
664:the original
650:
621:
611:
599:. Retrieved
591:The Guardian
590:
580:
569:. Retrieved
555:
543:. Retrieved
534:
506:. Retrieved
495:
471:
464:. Retrieved
455:
445:
433:. Retrieved
424:
414:
403:. Retrieved
394:
384:
376:
369:. Retrieved
360:
305:
301:ratification
291:in both the
273:Article Five
258:
221:
217:
211:
209:
197:
189:
179:
175:
168:
162:
154:Aaron Swartz
131:
122:rootstrikers
121:
117:
113:
79:Rootstrikers
78:
77:
68:Area served
17:Rootstrikers
765:. The U.S.
334:Jeff Kurzon
223:Morning Joe
190:rootstriker
186:Jon Stewart
83:nonpartisan
1092:Categories
638:|url=
571:2014-07-08
535:The Nation
405:2012-06-04
340:References
255:Activities
158:technology
103:Democratic
99:Joe Trippi
93:professor
34:April 2011
1026:Mayday.us
206:Positions
184:starring
876:Archived
847:Archived
817:Archived
796:Archived
771:Archived
737:Archived
629:cite web
595:Archived
565:Archived
539:Archived
502:Archived
460:Archived
429:Archived
399:Archived
365:Archived
323:See also
295:and the
244:K Street
240:Congress
196:'s book
167:'s book
114:branches
106:campaign
743:12 June
733:Ron Unz
706:June 4,
670:June 4,
601:June 4,
545:June 4,
508:June 4,
466:June 5,
435:June 4,
371:June 4,
275:of the
128:History
39:Founder
31:Founded
1006:(2012)
998:(2011)
990:(2008)
982:(2006)
974:(2004)
966:(2001)
958:(1999)
297:Senate
199:Walden
170:Walden
1014:Other
987:Remix
947:Books
850:(PDF)
843:(PDF)
81:is a
59:Focus
884:2012
858:2012
825:2012
779:2015
745:2012
708:2012
672:2012
642:help
603:2012
547:2012
510:2012
468:2012
437:2012
373:2012
289:vote
242:and
144:, a
118:root
49:Type
456:PBS
101:(a
1094::
874:.
845:.
815:.
769:.
747:.
731:.
725:.
694:.
680:^
658:.
633::
631:}}
627:{{
620:.
593:.
589:.
563:.
537:.
533:.
518:^
500:.
494:.
479:^
470:.
458:.
454:.
427:.
423:.
397:.
393:.
375:.
363:.
359:.
347:^
124:.
1063:"
1059:"
932:e
925:t
918:v
886:.
860:.
827:.
781:.
710:.
674:.
644:)
640:(
605:.
574:.
549:.
512:.
439:.
408:.
174:"
172::
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
