Have you ever been at a meeting where one person went on and on and made it impossible for other people to get a word in edgewise?
Didn’t you wish that the chair of that meeting would set up some guidelines so there was room for everyone to contribute?
That’s what we need now in our democracy.
Wealthy special interests are those people taking up the entire meetings.
They’re buying up endless amounts of advertisements, drowning out anyone who can’t afford to spend millions of dollars.
They give huge political contributions to ensure that their chosen candidate gets elected and that their issues are prioritized.
Where does that leave the interests of the rest of us (for example, lower pharmaceutical costs and no more free trade agreements)?
We need to get big money out of elections.
Corporations and other legal entities are not people, and money is not speech; there should be limits on political contributions and they should be disclosed.
Vote yes on Initiative 735 (www.yes735.org).
Make Washington the 18th state to tell Congress that we want to be able to hear voters voices in our elections.
Linda Brewster,
Port Townsend