Generally I agree with Rep. Ellison on this issue. However, for me he loses credibility when he excludes unions, particularly public employee unions, when he targets money and politics.

This website is non-partisan, and is setup only to add transparency to the money/politics issue. As you can see with only a little bit of poking, unions are every bit as much of the problem as the rich, or corporations.

Rep. Ellison, you have a very good opportunity to demonstrate that you are willing to put politics aside with this legislation and truly do what's right for the people. Please don't squander that by making this yet another political issue that divides us.

Oops, forgot the link. Here you go:
http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/list.php?order=A

Amen to Representative Ellison. I think it is reprehensible that our laws, governing bodies, etc. are determined by whichever party and/or candidate raises the most money. The public is judging their votes for leadership via sensational soundbites and advertisements. Who is benefiting? The media.

Trying to change the system is futile, unfortunately, for citizens who have millions control others like we're puppets on a string. Big money has spoken for too long, in ways we don't even comprehend because we've been living "innocently" in what we thought was a good system. Despite my obvious cynicism, I hope that some organized group CAN and DOES correct the problem. Good Luck !!!!!!

I thought Ellison was a typical political hack; it turns out he's much worse. He's willing to trash one of our primary freedoms, freedom of speech, to make himself and his colleagues more powerful. I say "his colleagues" rather than Democrats because we don't know how such a change would be used in the future since we don't know who will be in power. It might be used by the government to stop people who are making pro-choice arguments or it might be used to silence those who have pro-life views. It might be used to censor gun rights advocates or gun control advocates. We don't know which views would be trampled on but we know that those who are already in power--the politicians and bureaucrats--would decide. That's why every organization that cares about civil liberties from across the political spectrum (from the ACLU to the CATO Institute) oppose this proposed amendment and others like it. The amendment would give us a future in which the federal government tells HBO which programs it can and cannot air, tells colleges what classes they can and cannot teach, tells hospitals what information it can give to patients and which information must be kept from patients, and tells museums which exhibits are allowed and which are not permitted. Obviously the word "un-American" gets tossed around too often and too carelessly, but Ellison's goal here is to selectively gut the 1st Amendment to keep money flowing to him but not his opponents. If that's not un-American nothing is.

Guess I'm on the other end of the spectrum from some of the other commenters. I feel Citizens' United is a contradiction of freedom of speech. It effectively gives the biggest pockets the loudest voice, the biggest screens and the longest advertisements. The worst part is that these deep pockets aren't people—flesh and blood who live and die—they are companies and they don't have to tell you who they are.

The worst part is that instead of my vote counting, the money is my pocket matters more. Campaigners and candidates now answer to contributors not the citizens.

Ivar H Awes: ........ ."provided that a registered individual voter resident in and of the involved state,co signs and delivers the "contribution"

Out of state gifts?

Please read my response to this post here. Keith Ellison is trying the some old tactics of distraction and division. Let's take a look at what Keith actually does vs. what he says.

http://fridley.patch.com/blog_posts/inside-the-million-dollar-keith-ellison-money-machine

Ellison is a hack. And like all good dictators he wants to control what the people hear and see. This is nothing new as Progressives like Ellison are nothing but statists like their political cousins the Socialists and Fascists. They, too, want to limit who can speak and where and when. As for the comment about corporations not being flesh and blood, tell that the thousands of people who make up a corporation. Somehow to a progressive faceless, for-profit organizations that advocate against their goals are evil, but faceless, for-profit organizations that support them are Vox Populi.

Kay thinks it's reprehensible that our laws are "determined by whichever party and/or candidate raises the most money" yet how is this any different than being made by the party that gets the most votes? Short answer, it isn't. This fantasy that there is 'too much money in politics' rests and false assumptions that should be insulting to us all.

First, that we are all so stupid and gullible that bright, shiny things can make us pull a lever. I believe we all vote based on what we see as our best interests and sometimes those are mercenary, but that is the human condition. Second, that people don't have the right to use their own resources to promote their political beliefs. More is spent advertising antacids in a year than is spent in a presidential election. No one sees Pepto Bismol as evil using its resources to get us to buy their product. Yet, somehow, using our resources to persuade people about the most crucial decisions we make as citizens is beyond the pale. It is a variant on the Socialist concept that everyone must be forced to be 'equal' and that means equally poor. It's the same here. The DFL has a platform plank that says all Federal candidates should be required to take ONLY public funding.

If oligarchs like Ellison get their way, we will have only the right he says we have when he is feeling generous. Thank God, he’s doesn’t represent me.

Ellison is quite simply, a LIAR. The UNIONS SPENT OVER 20 MILLION IN WISCONSIN and got their asses kicked even worse this time around, which means even more union workers voted for Scott Walker and his sensible policies. Ellison is an embarrassment, even to the ridiculous voters in the 5th district.