- Official portrait of President Barack Obama in the Oval Office, Dec. 6, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
The good-government nonprofit Common Cause has that, when it comes to State of the Union addresses, President Obama saved his best for last.
“His commitment (Tuesday) to devote his final year in office to the pursuit of what he calls “a better politics” reflects his view – and Common Cause’s – that none of the critical problems facing the nation can be solved unless we first repair our democracy,”the nonpartisan nonprofit’s President Miles Rapoport said.
The agenda the President laid out – reducing the influence of big money in politics, squeezing partisan politics out of the drawing of our congressional districts, and ensuring that every citizen has ready access to the ballot box – has long been Common Cause’s agenda.
Rapoport continued:
“It’s the public’s agenda too – and we know how get it done. In states like Connecticut, Arizona, and Maine, we’ve helped implement small-dollar public financing systems that push candidates to focus on issues that matter to all Americans, not just major campaign donors. In California, Florida, and other states we’ve secured redistricting reforms to create districts that reflect our communities rather than serving the interests of any political party. In Colorado, Oregon, and most recently California, we’ve led successful fights to make voter registration easier, expand early voting opportunities and lower other barriers to voting.”
The Common Cause head said the organization is “delighted” that in his final months, the president said that he will devote his last year in office to “better politics.”
He added that the president should start by issuing an executive order requiring federal contractors to disclose their political spending.
“Voters have a vital interest in information about who is spending money to influence our votes, particularly when the spenders are companies doing business with the government,” Rapoport said.
He continued:
“The President reminded us tonight that each of us have a responsibility to uphold the obligations of citizenship — to vote, to speak out, to stand up for the weak and vulnerable, to stay active in our public life so it reflects the goodness and decency and optimism of our people and our history.
Common Cause and our 400,000 members and citizen activists are determined to do all we can to meet that obligation.”
Pennsylvanians for Fair Elections 