On Trump election anniversary, Merkley talks of reclaiming democracy

On the one-year anniversary of Donald Trump’s election, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley today released a new video Wednesday, laying out how “We the People” can overcome special interests and reclaim American democracy.

“Our political system has been hijacked by the privileged and powerful, and we need to do something about it,” said Merkley. “We have to fight to reclaim the ‘We the People’ government our nation was founded on.”

In the video, Sen. Merkley lays out the plan that he and Sen. Tom Udall have introduced with the “We the People” Act of 2017, including:

Overturning the Citizens United decision that has unleashed floods of special interest money into American campaigns, and putting small grassroots donations at the center of the campaign finance system; Closing loopholes that let outside groups spend millions of dollars on elections without disclosing the true source of funding behind the ads; Ending partisan redistricting and establishing independent citizen redistricting committees; And establishing automatic voter registration to empower every American to participate in elections.

“Today, on the one-year anniversary of the earth-shattering 2016 election, I’m calling on all of you to stay hopeful and to stay strong,” said Merkley. “Together, let’s restore the vision of government ‘of, by, and for the people.'”

The video can be viewed on Facebook here or on Twitter here.