Issue One is sad to note the passing of a member of our ReFormers Caucus, William H. Hudnut III. A former pastor, mayor of Indianapolis, member of Congress representing Indianapolis and president of the National League of Cities, Hudnut brought a wealth of practical political experience, wisdom and enthusiasm to our ReFormers Caucus (a group of more than 160 former
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It’s time to reset our congressional fundraising counter! In July 2016, we launched a counter presenting a rough running estimate of how much time members of Congress collectively spent raising money for their campaigns since the start of the 114th Congress. Based on the advice given to members by the Democratic and Republican national party committees, and statements by the
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On Wednesday, December 14, at 9:00 a.m. at the National Press Club, Issue One and our ReFormers Caucus will publicly roll out a new bipartisan framework titled “Returning Government to the American People.” (See event details below.) The framework lays out specific proposals for returning our government to the representative path the founders envisioned, and is intended to serve as
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Results of a striking new poll were released on November 17, showing unprecedented and disturbing levels of voter belief that “a few big interests” run the government. Perhaps the most disturbing result of the poll is the response to the following question, which has been asked in some form repeatedly since 1964: “Would you say the government is pretty much run by
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Especially in this year of political turmoil and uncertainty, it is good to stop and appreciate what’s good, encouraging and inspiring out there. We at Issue One are grateful for quite a bit this Thanksgiving. Local and state progress: Several state and local initiatives were approved on November 8 that advance the cause of small-d democracy around the country. We
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On November 8, 2016, President-elect Donald Trump’s call to “drain the swamp” clearly resonated with many voters. While most of the news coverage is focusing on Mr. Trump, voters also showed their hunger for change by approving several important state and local ballot initiatives that will reduce the power of special interests and open up state and local politics to
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This week marks Issue One’s second anniversary and we couldn’t be prouder of the progress we’ve made to help unite both parties behind real solutions to our broken campaign finance system. It’s been a busy two years. Our ReFormers Caucus is 158 members strong, and one-third Republican. Comprised of former governors and members of Congress from both parties, it is the largest
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Issue One is pleased to welcome former Republican Congressman Tom Osborne to our ReFormers Caucus. Congressman Osborne joins a distinguished group of more than 150 other former members of Congress and governors in the fight to restore our democracy by reducing the undue influence of money in our politics. Mr. Osborne represented Nebraska’s 3rd District from 2001 to 2007, serving
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As we look forward to the third and final debate between presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, we at Issue One are asking ourselves: will they finally debate democracy? “The multi-billion dollar question that remains unasked—and unanswered—is ‘how does the next president plan to address the access-and-influence system that has come to dominate our government?’” said Meredith McGehee, Issue
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