WASHINGTON -- Forty-one business leaders have co-signed letters sent to Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress voicing their opposition to Thursday's Supreme Court ruling that frees corporations to spend unlimited amounts on influencing elections.
"Is there a difference between campaign contributions and bribery?" said Alan Hassenfeld, chairman of Hasbro, Inc, who co-signed the letter.
"It is long past the time to stop requiring that our elected officials moonlight as telemarketers raising money for their re-election campaigns rather then devoting all their time to solving the problems before this nation," he said.
The letter read: "As business leaders, we believe the current political fundraising system is already broken. The Supreme Court decision further exacerbates this problem."
Signatories include current and former high-ranking corporate executives of enterprises such as Playboy Enterprises, MetLife, Ben & Jerry's, and Delta Airlines, among others.
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The executives urged Congress to embrace public financing as the best way forward, endorsing the Fair Elections Now Act, sponsored by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Rep. John Larson (D-CT).
"With a strong public financing system in place, candidates will be not be consigned to a system in which constant fundraising creates conflicts of interest and leaves Members little time to do the job they were elected to do."
The effort was organized by a coalition of consumer advocacy groups, including Common Cause, U.S. PIRG, Brennan Center for Justice, Change Congress, Democracy Matters, Public Campaign and Public Citizen -- all of whom support public financing of elections.
Read the letters here-- House/Senate [pdf].
The executives echo the criticisms of Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), who blasted the ruling Thursday in an interview with Raw Story, saying without campaign finance reform, "you can kiss your country goodbye." ...
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