Give it back

-by Andrew Romanoff

Last week, the Supreme Court decided that special-interest groups can make "independent expenditures" for or against political candidates -- without any limit at all.  That decision came in a case called Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.  It means that out-of-state corporations and other interest groups can not only tell Coloradans how to vote, they can spend millions or even billions of dollars drowning out the voices of the people who actually live here. 

Today, I'm asking the other candidates in the race for the U.S. Senate to join me in standing up for the people of Colorado.  Here's how: 

1. Return the money you've taken from political action committees -- and don't take any more.  Out-of-state interest groups have likely poured more than a million dollars into this race already.  That's part of the problem.  The citizens I've heard from over the last four months are fed up with Washington's "pay-to-play" culture.  We need to restore public confidence in our political system.  Let's lead by example.
    
2. Defend the will of the voters.  The people of Colorado voted by two-to-one margins in 1996 and again in 2002 to prohibit corporations and unions from making direct contributions to political candidates.  Now some Republican lawyers may sue to overturn that law; they claim support in the Supreme Court ruling.  But that's not what the court said, and it's not what Coloradans want.  Let's enforce the law -- not gut it. 
   
3. Tell the special interests to stay out of Colorado.  The people of Colorado should be able to elect our own senator.  We may not be able to stop outside interest groups from interfering in our elections, but we don't need to put out a welcome mat.  Let's tell the insurance industry, the drug companies, and the Wall Street banks: Don't tread on Colorado.