Rep. Jim Cooper and 12 Congressional Challengers Take Pledge to 'Change Congress'

Friday, April 4, 2008

(Change Congress)STANFORD, Calif., April 4, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Representative Jim Cooper (D-TN 5th) and 12 Congressional candidates today took the Change Congress (http://change-congress.org/) pledge to reform the way Washington does business. By taking the pledge, each candidate has agreed to (1) Reject money from lobbyists and PACs; (2) Vote to ban earmarks; (3) Support public financing of political campaigns; and/or (4) Support total Congressional transparency. Rep. Cooper has taken all but the first pledge. New pledges can agree to the platform in full or in part.

Cooper, currently serving his ninth term in Congress, has used his seats on the Armed Services, Budget, and Oversight and Government Reform Committees to demand greater transparency and accountability in government. An attorney and Rhodes Scholar, he has long criticized wasteful spending and the corrosive influence of special interests on the democratic process. In recent months he has called for an end to earmarks, introduced successful legislation to strengthen federal watchdogs and led a movement in Congress to tackle the nation's long-term fiscal challenges.

Congressional candidates taking the pledge include:

-- Amit Singh (R-VA 8th) (1, 2, 3)
-- Ethan Strimling (D-ME 1s) (1, 2, 3, 4)
-- Ashley Casey (Ind-LA 6th) (1, 2, 3)
-- Ed Fallon (D-IA 3rd) (1, 2, 3, 4)
-- Sam Rasoul (D-VA 6th) (1, 2, 3, 4)
-- Tristin Mock (Green-OR 2nd) (1, 2, 3, 4)
-- Chellie Pingree (D-ME 1st) (2, 3, 4)
-- Peter Bearse (Ind-NH 1st) (1, 2, 3)
-- Hank Eng (D-CO 6th) (2, 3, 4)
-- Cheryl Crist (D-WA 3rd) (2, 3, 4)
-- John M. Wages, Jr. (Green-MS 1st) (1, 2, 3, 4)
-- Mike Waltner (D-PA 3rd) (2, 3, 4)

"In just one short week since we announced the launch of Change Congress, we have seen tremendous interest from candidates and elected representatives on both sides of the aisle," said Lawrence Lessig, Stanford University law professor and founder of Change Congress. "We are very pleased and honored to have the support of Rep. Cooper and these 12 congressional challengers. They represent the kind of change we have been talking about and confirm our belief that there are many good people in Washington who want to change the distorting influence of money in politics."

"Change Congress has the potential to take a national mandate for change, organize it and make it a political force in congressional races across the country," said Rep. Cooper. "I am already impressed by this effort and look forward to working with this grassroots movement to change the way Washington works -- or doesn't. We must reinvigorate our democracy."

Designed and supported with help from political strategist Joe Trippi, Change Congress is a new national, technology-driven grassroots organization that seeks to change the corruptive influence of money on government. In a speech last week at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Lessig detailed how Change Congress works as a "political mash-up," using the Web and Wikipedia-inspired tools to leverage and amplify the important related reform work already underway, as well as empower thousands across the political spectrum to effect reform.

Change Congress will provide the online tools for citizens, candidates and legislators to pledge their support to these goals. The new project is modeled on the Creative Commons project Lessig started to help change how copyright works. Creative Commons allows people to tag their writings, photography and video content with alternative copyright badges. Change Congress will allow candidates to tag their campaigns as committed to fundamental reform. Once taking the pledge, candidates and legislators can download a Change Congress "widget," a small piece of HTML code they can use on their campaign or official websites, to show their support for Change Congress. By marking their Web sites in this way, candidates make themselves easily recognizable to potential voters and contributors. Volunteers will also be able to use these tools to identify reform candidates, and recruit candidates and members to take the Change Congress pledge. The site will also link these legislators and candidates to volunteers and contributors nationwide, who in turn, can provide financial support in place of PAC money.

Through technology, Change Congress hopes to aggregate and complement the reform work of other important organizations, including Public Campaign, Common Cause, Taxpayers for Common Sense, Just $6, Porkbusters, MAPLight and the Sunlight Foundation. By showing the breadth of existing support for fundamental reform, the new movement hopes to inspire and enlist many more to get involved in the bi-partisan efforts of these other like-minded organizations to change Congress.