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| ⚫ | Common Cause is a |
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| ⚫ | '''Common Cause''' is a ] ] group based in ] in the ]. | ||
| ===Mission=== | |||
| According to the website, its mission is to, "strengthen public participation and faith in our institutions of self-government; to ensure that government and political processes serve the general interest, rather than special interests; to curb the excessive influence of money on government decisions and elections; to promote fair elections and high ethical standards for government officials; and to protect the civil rights and civil liberties of all Americans." | |||
| Common Cause was founded in 1970 by ], a ] who came to Washington to serve under President ], a ], and served as ] in the Johnson ] from 1965 to 1968. | |||
| ⚫ | Common Cause works with its members and activists and in ] with other advocacy organizations including ] and ] toward its stated goal of making government more accountable to the people. It has led efforts for ], ethics and accountability in government, and transparent government practices at the national, state, and local levels. | ||
| ⚫ | It has partnered with coalitions for ] legislation, ending what Common Cause considered to be wasteful weapons programs, and working for reforms of the ] system in the United States. In the past, it has worked to ban ] contributions. In ], the ] was enacted. A year later the ] ] decision upheld the law, thus effectively banning such contibutions. | ||
| ===History=== | |||
| Common Cause was founded in 1970 by ], who was the U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under President ]. Gardner was a Republican, who came to Washington, to serve under President Johnson, a Democrat. Gardner later became chair of the ], a group advocating for poor, minority, and working-class residents in urban areas. | |||
| ⚫ | == References == | ||
| During his time in the nation's capital, a city teeming with special interest groups, he stated that "everybody's organized but the people." That thought formed the seed of Common Cause, which Gardner established in August 1970 to represent citizens' interests in Washington. Within six months, the organization had more than 100,000 members, many of them joining to oppose the Vietnam War. | |||
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| ⚫ | == External links == | ||
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| ⚫ | * | ||
| ], general secretary of the ] was named President by the National Governing Board in May 2007. Martha Tierney, a Denver attorney, is currently the interim chair of the national governing board. | |||
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| ===Current issues and projects=== | |||
| Common Cause is a United States membership organization with approximately 300,000 members and financial supporters. It has 36 state chapters, which lobby their legislatures. The group has professional lobbyists based in Washington, D.C.. | |||
| ⚫ | Common Cause works with its members and activists and in coalition with other advocacy organizations |
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| The organization currently has 4 major priorities: public financing of elections; open and democratic media that strengthen democracy; promoting ethics at all levels of government; and improving voting machines. | |||
| <u>Voters First Pledge Campaign</u><br><br> | |||
| The Voters First Pledge campaign is a Common Cause campaign designed to clean up American government and elections, according to the principles listed above. Common Cause asked all candidates for federal office in 2006 -- around 1300 candidates across the nation -- to sign the Voters First Pledge. | |||
| <u>Get It Straight by 2008</u><br><br> | |||
| Common Cause's Get it Straight by 2008 campaign seeks to require voter-verified paper trails and audits of voting machines. | |||
| HR 550, "The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2005," introduced by Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ), would have required a voter-verified paper record as well as audits. Common Cause unsuccessfully lobbied the House to pass the bill. | |||
| <u>Media and Democracy Coalition</u><br><br> | |||
| Common Cause spearheads and acts as fiscal sponsor for the Media and Democracy Coalition. According to its website, the coalition consists of 25 groups and is "committed to amplifying the voices of the public in shaping media and telecommunications policy." | |||
| ⚫ | == |
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| ^ including Public Campaign, Public Citizen and U.S. PIRG | |||
| ^ For an official complete list of these issues, click Here. | |||
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Revision as of 20:49, 21 May 2007
 | This article relies excessively on references to primary sources. Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources. Find sources: "Common Cause" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Common Cause is a nonpartisan lobbying group based in Washington, D.C. in the United States.
Common Cause was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican who came to Washington to serve under President Lyndon Johnson, a Democrat, and served as U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the Johnson administration from 1965 to 1968.
Common Cause works with its members and activists and in coalition with other advocacy organizations including Public Citizen and U.S. PIRG toward its stated goal of making government more accountable to the people. It has led efforts for campaign finance reform, ethics and accountability in government, and transparent government practices at the national, state, and local levels.
It has partnered with coalitions for civil rights legislation, ending what Common Cause considered to be wasteful weapons programs, and working for reforms of the voting system in the United States. In the past, it has worked to ban soft money contributions. In 2002, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act was enacted. A year later the U.S. Supreme Court McConnell v. FEC decision upheld the law, thus effectively banning such contibutions.
References