“Armed violent protestors who support the baseless claim by outgoing president Trump that he somehow won an election that he overwhelmingly lost have stormed the U.S. Capitol today, attacking police officers and first responders, because Trump refused to accept defeat in a free and fair election. Throughout this whole disgusting episode, Trump has been cheered on by members of his own party, adding fuel to the distrust that has enflamed violent anger. This is not law and order. This is chaos. It is mob rule. It is dangerous. This is sedition and should be treated as such." - Jay Timmons, National Assn. of Manufacturers
Everyone involved in the desecration of the the Capitol should be held accountable. Violent protestors. Politicians incited violence. And the companies funding these politicians.
Who is funding a politician? How can concerned citizens directly and peacefully demand that corporate donors live up to the values they claim to have?
Stop The Sedition
Scan this QR Code to see the app and share it on social media or use https://stopthesedition.glideapp.io/
Live up to your values
"Freedom, democracy and rule of law are America’s bedrock and must never be usurped..." - AT&T
"Respect one another and advance a global, diverse team..." - Boeing
"We deploy catalytic capital that helps level the playing field..." - Goldman Sachs
Demand companies live up to their professed values when they fund politicians acting contrary to those values. Or are they just marketing slogans, ready to be sacrificed for a tax cut or getting laws re-written to benefit the company?
Outrage is a terrible thing to waste
"Power must be personified through someone who is the responsible and making them live up to their professed values.' explains Saul Alinsky in Rules For Radicals.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. explains how to use economic power and public outrage collectively to demand companies behave properly.
"We don't have to argue with anybody. We don't have to curse and go around acting bad with our words. We don't need any bricks and bottles. We don't need any Molotov cocktails. We just need to go around to these stores, and to these massive industries in our country, and say, "God sent us by here, to say to you that you're not treating his children right. And we've come by here to ask you to make the first item on your agenda fair treatment, where God's children are concerned. Now, if you are not prepared to do that, we do have an agenda that we must follow. And our agenda calls for withdrawing economic support from you."
How to find a politician's donors on OpenSecrets
Designing the Stop The Sedition app
Stop The Sedition was designed overnight by DemLabs using GlideApps, a free app. Volunteers used OpenSecrets to find these senators' major donors and added quotes from headlines from Vanity Fair and the NY Times. The app can be seen without installing any software and can be easily shared on Twitter and Facebook using a QR Code.
The email address and phone number for each company is included in the app. This makes it easier for a concerned citizen to immediately contact the firm. The app can also be searched to see which politicians a firm supports. The GIF demo above shows how a search reveals that Koch Industries funds both Cynthia Lummis and Roger Marshall.
Takeaway: Justice John Robert's court ruling gave corporations enormous influence over politicians in their Citizens United ruling. Insist that companies live up to the values they claim to have and stop funding politicians acting contrary to those values.
"God sent us by here, to say to you that you're not treating his children right. And we've come by here to ask you to make the first item on your agenda fair treatment." - MLK Jr. Use technology to make sure companies get that message loud and clear.
Deepak
DemLabs
Image credit: Noun Project