From Capitol Hill to Our Communities: People Power in Action

This month, our advocates took the We the People Amendment from congressional offices in Washington, D.C., to candidate campaigns in Ohio and Minnesota, the radio waves in Alaska, a public library in Georgia, and community struggles happening right in people's backyards.

Different places. Different tactics. One movement.

And few stories capture that better this month than Lawrence Abbott's.

Lawrence Abbott: Just Keep Showing Up

Longtime Move to Amend volunteer Lawrence Abbott had quite a week.

It started in Washington, D.C., where Lawrence had traveled with Jewish Voice for Peace. Once their lobbying activities concluded, Lawrence wasn't ready to go home—and he certainly hadn't left the We the People Amendment behind.

Armed with a short Move to Amend lobbying packet, he headed into congressional offices himself.

Lawrence talked with House and Senate staff about H.J.Res. 54, corporate rule, real representation, and our effort to find a senator willing to introduce the We the People Amendment in the Senate.

Some of the conversations that stayed with him most were with younger congressional staffers.

Lawrence told them that when he looked at their generation, he thought about his own children and grandchildren—and about his responsibility to help repair the world his generation is leaving behind. He challenged them to use the positions they hold inside Congress to help build a government that actually represents people.

But Washington had another opportunity waiting for him.

Lawrence arrived at the Congressional Courage and Accountability Summit with about ten minutes to spare. When other speakers canceled, organizers asked him to speak earlier than planned.

So he stepped up.

For ten minutes, Lawrence represented Move to Amend and made the case for the We the People Amendment before a room that included congressional candidates.

Then something happened that he hadn't planned for.

The candidates started coming to him.

During the breaks, Lawrence found himself talking with candidate after candidate about Move to Amend. One was so enthusiastic, Lawrence reported, that they talked about making the We the People Amendment a centerpiece of their campaign.

The next morning, Lawrence was back at the Capitol for another action.

Then he flew home to California.

You might think that's where this story ends.

It isn't.

From Capitol Hill to a Conversation With Bernie Sanders

Days later, Lawrence was back in familiar territory: organized labor.

At a gathering in Livermore, California, Lawrence was surrounded by people and relationships built through years of labor organizing. Sen. Bernie Sanders was there, too.

Another opportunity.

Another question.

Lawrence approached Sanders and asked him about sponsoring the We the People Amendment in the U.S. Senate.

According to Lawrence's account, Sanders responded positively.

It was a brief conversation—but it was exactly the kind of opening Move to Amend has been working toward as we seek a Senate companion to H.J.Res. 54.

And Lawrence wasn't finished.

At the same gathering, he approached California labor leader Lorena Gonzalez about support for the amendment. She photographed the three-page Move to Amend packet Lawrence was carrying and pointed him toward a follow-up through one of his longtime organizing relationships.

Elsewhere in his labor network, Lawrence has been encouraging union members interested in the amendment to explore resolutions within their own organizations.

The common thread isn't luck.

It's relationships.

Years spent organizing alongside people meant Lawrence had someone to call. Someone to introduce the amendment to. Someone willing to listen. Someone who could connect him to the next person.

And because Lawrence kept carrying the amendment with him, every one of those relationships became another possible opening.

One Conversation Leads to Another

Lawrence has been doing the same thing online.

He's become a regular participant in discussions on Robert Reich's Substack, looking for opportunities to introduce people to Move to Amend when conversations turn toward money in politics and corporate power.

And one of those conversations worked.

Lawrence described a reader following his comments to Move to Amend's website, deciding the organization was “the real deal,” contacting congressional offices—and then beginning to talk about Move to Amend in other online discussions.

Think about that chain for a moment.

One comment led someone to our website.

The website led them to take action.

Taking action led them to start spreading the word themselves.

That's organizing, too.

Whether you're standing in the halls of Congress, talking with someone at a union gathering, or typing a comment from your computer, the principle is remarkably similar:

Show up. Build relationships. Start conversations. Be ready when the next door opens.

Lawrence couldn't have planned every opportunity that came his way that week.

He was simply prepared to use them.

And across the country, other Move to Amend advocates are doing exactly the same thing.

Ohio: Ask 50 Candidates a Question...

What happens when you ask 50 candidates across 20 races where they stand on the We the People Amendment?

In Miami County, Ohio, Move to Amend organizers decided to find out.

Sixteen candidates responded. Twelve took the Pledge to Amend.

That's not all the affiliate has been up to. For Constitution Week, volunteers created a 29-question Constitution quiz and a series of memes to get their neighbors thinking and talking about democracy. Now they're looking beyond social media and working to get the results of their candidate outreach into local newspapers.

There's a useful organizing lesson in that progression: educate people, ask candidates where they stand, put their answers on the record—and make sure the community knows about them.

Fifty outreach attempts became twelve public commitments.

Sometimes you don't know what the answer will be until you ask.

Alaska: Turn Up the Radio

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, Move to Amend advocates in Alaska have found another microphone.

Literally.

Alaska organizers have been producing radio programs exploring corporate power and its effects on public life. Their latest work has examined corporate influence over media, with additional programs being developed around taxation and corporate influence on science and public information.

And their organizing hasn't been confined to the airwaves.

Kevin reported another development during the coalition call: Alaska voters had recently approved a campaign-finance ballot initiative that the local affiliate had worked on for some time.

But perhaps our favorite part of Kevin's update came immediately afterward.

Other volunteers started asking:

How can we do what you're doing?

That conversation sparked the idea of bringing Kevin's experience into our newly improved Take Action Toolkit, sharing practical tips for approaching radio stations, producing programming, and getting Move to Amend voices onto local airwaves elsewhere in the country.

That's how movements grow.

Someone tries something locally. It works. Someone somewhere else asks how they did it. And suddenly one affiliate's idea becomes a tool for everyone.

Georgia: Twelve People in a Library

Not every successful organizing story needs a packed auditorium.

Atlanta Move to Amend recently held a movie night at a public library. About a dozen people came together to watch a documentary about money in American elections and create space for conversation afterward.

Twelve people.

It would be easy to look at that number and wish it were 120.

We look at it differently.

That's twelve people who chose to spend part of their day learning about money and political power. Twelve people who can carry that conversation home. Twelve opportunities for another conversation to begin.

And Atlanta organizers haven't been waiting for people to come to them, either. They've also been taking civic engagement onto the Kennesaw State University campus, helping students register to vote.

Gather people where you can. Meet people where they are. Start the conversation.

That's organizing.

Minnesota: A Pledge Appeared on the Doorstep

This might be one of our favorite stories from the coalition call.

Move to Amend Minnesota has spent years approaching candidates and asking them to take the Pledge to Amend.

Then something started changing.

Candidates began approaching them.

Organizers reported that candidates have contacted Move to Amend Minnesota because they want to sign the Pledge. And recently, one organizer came home to find something waiting for her:

a completed, signed Pledge to Amend form sitting on her doorstep.

The candidate had sought them out.

That didn't happen overnight.

Minnesota volunteers kept asking the question. Election after election, they approached candidates, collected pledges, published the results, and made the We the People Amendment part of their political landscape.

Eventually, something flipped.

Instead of organizers always chasing candidates for an answer, candidates began recognizing that this was a question they should answer.

That's what years of grassroots persistence can build.

And if it can happen in Minnesota, imagine what sustained organizing could build in your community.

Sometimes, Don't Start a New Conversation—Join One

Back in Ohio, Deb Stack shared another organizing lesson.

People in her community are already talking about issues affecting their lives—including data centers and homelessness.

So the local affiliate is showing up.

Rather than expecting people to begin with a conversation about constitutional law, they're listening to the conversations their neighbors are already having and looking for opportunities to explain how corporate power and political influence intersect with those local decisions.

That's an important distinction.

We don't always need to call the meeting.

Sometimes we need to show up to the meeting that's already happening.

Listen. Learn what people are facing. Stand alongside them. Build relationships. And when the connection is there, help people see how their immediate struggle connects to the larger structures of power we're working to change.

What Will Your Update Be Next Month?

Look back at these stories and you'll notice something:

Nobody organized the same way.

Lawrence carried the amendment from Capitol Hill to candidate conversations, labor gatherings, online discussions—and ultimately a conversation with a U.S. senator.

Miami County asked candidates a question.

Alaska turned on a microphone.

Atlanta gathered twelve people in a library and met students on campus.

Minnesota kept organizing until candidates started coming to them.

Ohio advocates showed up for conversations their neighbors were already having.

There's no single formula for building this movement.

So, what makes sense where you live?

Maybe it's hosting a conversation. Attending a community meeting. Asking a candidate to take the Pledge. Writing a letter to the editor. Joining an online discussion. Going on local radio. Tabling at an event. Collecting petition signatures. Visiting a congressional office. Bringing the amendment to your union, civic organization, faith community, classroom, or neighborhood.

You don't have to do everything.

Just find your way to show up.

And when you do, tell us about it.