Tom Steyer 2020
Thursday, July 11, 2019

Tom Steyer Introduces Plan to Fix the Broken Political System in Washington 

(San Francisco, July 11, 2019) — Today, presidential candidate Tom Steyer introduced his plan to implement reforms that will push power back to the American people. “The problem is corporations and the people who run and own them have purchased our democracy,” said Steyer in a video he released today.

The video highlights Steyer’s past victories standing up to big corporations through grassroots efforts. “We built grassroots campaigns that took on big corporations and won. We beat big tobacco to fund healthcare.  We forced big oil to clean up our air. And we closed corporate loopholes to fund education. That proved it for me. That together the American people can fix anything.”

Steyer’s plan focuses on pushing power to the American people in the following ways :

• Tackling the corporate stranglehold on politics by repealing Citizens United
• Restructuring the FEC by making changes to its commissioner composition
• Initiating an annual national referendum process
• Implementing term limits for Congress 
• Advancing a vote at home system across the country to increase voter participation 
• Supporting important election reform legislation
• Establishing independent redistricting commissions 

“Unless we end the corporate corruption of our democracy, we won’t be able to pass any of the great plans put forward by the Democratic candidates for President,” said Steyer.  “Here’s the difference between me and the other candidates. I don’t think we can fix our democracy from the inside. I don’t believe Washington and big corporations will let that happen.” 

Paid for by Tom Steyer 2020.

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About Tom:

Tom Steyer left his successful investing business seven years ago to give his own money and all his time and energy to fighting for progressive causes. He soon became one of the country’s leading forces in registering more young voters and voters of color, fighting climate change, working for racial justice, and helping secure better lives for all Americans. Tom has led a number of people-first, grassroots campaigns that have repeatedly defeated powerful special interests, beating big oil to win clean air laws, forcing big tobacco to pay its share of healthcare costs, and closing a billion-dollar corporate tax loophole to fund public schools.  

Tom and his wife Kat Taylor were early signers of the Giving Pledge, a commitment to give the bulk of their fortune to good causes in their lifetime. Tom’s dedication to doing what is right comes from his parents. His father was a lawyer who prosecuted Nazis at the Nuremberg Trials; his mother was a journalist and teacher who volunteered to teach prisoners in New York City jails. Tom says his parents showed him the power of having the courage to do the right thing. Their greatest lesson, he says, was that our actions speak louder than our words – what we do is more important than what we say.

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"Democracy Agenda" Video Transcript (2m30s):

[Music]  Steyer: We elect politicians to fix problems, but here we are in 2019 with an out-of-control President, a broken Congress, and working people, regular people, without a seat at the table.

That's not right.  But it is fixable.  How?

By going directly to the people.

We built grassroots campaigns that took on big corporations and won.  We beat Big Tobacco to fund health care.  We forced Big Oil to clean up our air.  We closed corporate loopholes to fund education.

That proved it for me that together the American people can fix anything.

The problem is corporations and the people who run and own them have purchased our democracy at the expense of the rest of us.

Corporations are not people and we should stop according them all the rights of citizens.

Until we fix that, we won't be able to  solve the challenges we face or pass any of the great plans proposed by the Democratic candidates running for president.

Here's the difference between me and the other candidates.

I don't think we can fix our democracy from the inside. I dont' believe Washington politicians and big corporations will let that happen.

The only way we can make change happen is from the outside.

For me, this comes down to whether you trust the politicians or the people.

If you say you trust the people, are you willing to stand up to the insiders and the big corporations and give the people the tools they ned to fix our democracy?

- A National Referendum
- Term Limits
- Eliminating corporate money in politics
- Making it easy to vote

I trust the people. And as President, I will give you tools we need to fix our democracy.

Thiis will be a movement.  No corporations.  No PACs.  No BS.

I'll empower people in every state.

We can do this.  There's no problem that the American people–united–can't solve.

Let's make change happen.