00:00:04.568 --> 00:00:06.571
I think to be elected
president these days

00:00:06.571 --> 00:00:08.841
you need
a lot of money.

00:00:08.841 --> 00:00:10.542
Money and publicity.

00:00:10.542 --> 00:00:12.377
A few thousand dollars.

00:00:12.377 --> 00:00:14.679
Maybe $10,000.

00:00:14.679 --> 00:00:16.048
After giving you money,

00:00:16.048 --> 00:00:18.349
people want you
to do things for them.

00:00:18.349 --> 00:00:19.885
Millions of dollars.

00:00:19.885 --> 00:00:21.619
It has strings attached.

00:00:21.619 --> 00:00:24.423
And now you're gonna have
to pay it all off.

00:00:24.423 --> 00:00:26.124
Yeah, so that's a problem.

00:00:26.124 --> 00:00:29.161
♪

00:00:29.161 --> 00:00:31.429
Every United States senator
wakes up,

00:00:31.429 --> 00:00:35.767
and his first thought is,
"Today I have to raise $20,000,

00:00:35.767 --> 00:00:38.770
"or at the end
of the next election,

00:00:38.770 --> 00:00:40.706
"I won't have a job."

00:00:42.608 --> 00:00:45.277
It costs money
to stay in office.

00:00:45.277 --> 00:00:48.213
Where are you going
to get the money?

00:00:49.715 --> 00:00:52.050
(woman)
Some of the stuff
that happens,

00:00:52.050 --> 00:00:54.453
if people knew about it,
they'd be furious,

00:00:54.453 --> 00:00:56.354
but no one
knows about it.

00:00:56.354 --> 00:00:59.357
(man)
Who stops the health care?
Insurance companies.

00:00:59.357 --> 00:01:00.992
Why?
They're making money.

00:01:00.992 --> 00:01:04.396
Who stops us from coming off oil
to something else?

00:01:04.396 --> 00:01:06.798
The oil companies.
Why? They're getting rich.

00:01:06.798 --> 00:01:09.301
(man)
If money is free speech,

00:01:09.301 --> 00:01:12.670
that means that you
who have $1 million

00:01:12.670 --> 00:01:17.175
and I who have $100
are equal?

00:01:17.175 --> 00:01:19.177
Uh-uh.

00:01:19.177 --> 00:01:24.750
["The Battle Hymn
of the Republic" playing]

00:01:24.750 --> 00:01:28.286
[cash register ringing]
ding, ding

00:01:28.286 --> 00:01:32.257
♪

00:01:32.257 --> 00:01:35.627
(Steve Cowan)
This story is not
about the sea,

00:01:35.627 --> 00:01:37.629
but it began there.

00:01:37.629 --> 00:01:39.631
We were shooting a documentary

00:01:39.631 --> 00:01:42.634
about how too many fish
were being caught,

00:01:42.634 --> 00:01:46.004
despite clear signs that fewer
were left to catch,

00:01:46.004 --> 00:01:48.006
until in many places,

00:01:48.006 --> 00:01:51.043
whole communities
felt the pain.

00:01:51.043 --> 00:01:54.045
Over many seasick days,
we began to realize

00:01:54.045 --> 00:01:56.681
that the disaster
could have been avoided.

00:01:56.681 --> 00:01:59.785
It was one of those things
our government,

00:01:59.785 --> 00:02:03.221
for some reason, was unable
or unwilling to stop.

00:02:03.221 --> 00:02:05.891
We traded in our boat
for a car

00:02:05.891 --> 00:02:08.559
and on the Fourth of July
set out

00:02:08.559 --> 00:02:10.895
to make a new film
about our government

00:02:10.895 --> 00:02:13.498
and citizens who wanted
to do a better job

00:02:13.498 --> 00:02:15.234
for the country they love.

00:02:15.234 --> 00:02:16.601
(woman)
I think we're losing

00:02:16.601 --> 00:02:19.004
the "for the people,
of the people" feel.

00:02:19.004 --> 00:02:22.374
I think the government has
taken it on their own agenda.

00:02:22.374 --> 00:02:25.444
I feel that the common people
has been forgotten.

00:02:25.444 --> 00:02:27.445
We've lost that image

00:02:27.445 --> 00:02:30.949
that people get elected
to serve the public.

00:02:30.949 --> 00:02:33.952
I don't know how
you're gonna change it.

00:02:33.952 --> 00:02:35.587
(man)
If they want to be reelected,

00:02:35.587 --> 00:02:38.290
they have to go to someone
who has the money.

00:02:38.290 --> 00:02:39.925
Money absolutely drives it.

00:02:39.925 --> 00:02:42.127
It's not rocket science,
really.

00:02:42.127 --> 00:02:43.928
[fireworks whistling
and exploding]

00:02:43.928 --> 00:02:45.630
[cheers and applause]

00:02:45.630 --> 00:02:47.399
(Cowan)
So why is it,

00:02:47.399 --> 00:02:50.502
in a country we celebrate
as having a government

00:02:50.502 --> 00:02:52.971
of the people
and for the people,

00:02:52.971 --> 00:02:55.173
that so many Americans
seem concerned

00:02:55.173 --> 00:02:58.543
about the impact of money
on our elected leaders?

00:02:58.543 --> 00:03:02.346
Is it because of some
of the policies they're making

00:03:02.346 --> 00:03:04.349
or a lack of oversight

00:03:04.349 --> 00:03:06.384
that's affecting
our everyday lives?

00:03:06.384 --> 00:03:08.386
(man)
Fresh questions

00:03:08.386 --> 00:03:11.523
about what this nation's banks
have been doing

00:03:11.523 --> 00:03:14.693
with almost $200 billion
in taxpayer bailout money.

00:03:14.693 --> 00:03:19.797
America has the greatest
health care in the world.

00:03:19.797 --> 00:03:22.801
Our financial institutions,
our banks and investment bank,

00:03:22.801 --> 00:03:24.803
are very strong.

00:03:24.803 --> 00:03:26.738
Our markets are resilient.

00:03:26.738 --> 00:03:28.740
The cost of this war

00:03:28.740 --> 00:03:31.676
is at $350 billion
and climbing.

00:03:31.676 --> 00:03:35.079
It's hard for us here
to believe, however,

00:03:35.079 --> 00:03:39.684
persons who have recently died
have been returning to life.

00:03:39.684 --> 00:03:42.821
(Cowan)
OK, that zombie thing
hasn't happened...yet.

00:03:42.821 --> 00:03:44.388
[thunder]

00:03:44.388 --> 00:03:46.391
But given the major mishaps

00:03:46.391 --> 00:03:48.593
our government has let happen
or ignored

00:03:48.593 --> 00:03:50.728
or funded
with our tax dollars,

00:03:50.728 --> 00:03:53.231
maybe this is why
every election year

00:03:53.231 --> 00:03:55.701
many of us
vote for the candidate

00:03:55.701 --> 00:03:57.703
who will promise
the most change.

00:03:57.703 --> 00:04:00.238
(Barack Obama) We're gonna change
the country and change the world.

00:04:00.238 --> 00:04:02.307
(Cowan)
Can any one officeholder,

00:04:02.307 --> 00:04:04.809
with the way things work
or don't work

00:04:04.809 --> 00:04:06.544
in Washington, D.C.,

00:04:06.544 --> 00:04:08.546
make good on the promise

00:04:08.546 --> 00:04:10.548
to represent
ordinary Americans?

00:04:10.548 --> 00:04:13.184
If money really is
the changer stopper,

00:04:13.184 --> 00:04:15.520
how exactly does that happen?

00:04:17.388 --> 00:04:21.893
So we set out on the road
to follow the money trail--

00:04:21.893 --> 00:04:24.162
not through
all our national policies,

00:04:24.162 --> 00:04:26.498
just two
people experience every day--

00:04:26.498 --> 00:04:28.500
to find out

00:04:28.500 --> 00:04:31.335
who our government's
really working for.

00:04:31.335 --> 00:04:33.672
And if not "we, the people,"

00:04:33.672 --> 00:04:36.608
what can be done
to take it back?

00:04:41.012 --> 00:04:42.948
[scanner beeps]

00:04:45.149 --> 00:04:47.452
Why would our search
for answers

00:04:47.452 --> 00:04:49.454
begin in a supermarket?

00:04:49.454 --> 00:04:52.090
Before getting into energy
or foreign policy,

00:04:52.090 --> 00:04:54.092
we thought
we'd start simple.

00:04:54.092 --> 00:04:56.728
The need for healthy food
is basic,

00:04:56.728 --> 00:04:58.596
and we don't usually think

00:04:58.596 --> 00:05:00.865
of whether
it's wholesome or not

00:05:00.865 --> 00:05:03.535
as being affected
by money in politics.

00:05:04.736 --> 00:05:07.338
Where does food come from?

00:05:07.338 --> 00:05:10.542
Food comes from the sun.

00:05:12.076 --> 00:05:13.644
♪ When I go
to see my grandma ♪

00:05:13.644 --> 00:05:15.046
♪ I gain a lot of weight ♪

00:05:15.046 --> 00:05:16.314
♪ With her dear hands ♪

00:05:16.314 --> 00:05:17.849
♪ she gives me
plate after plate ♪

00:05:17.849 --> 00:05:19.317
♪ She cans the pickles... ♪

00:05:19.317 --> 00:05:21.953
(man) America, when they
think of farms,

00:05:21.953 --> 00:05:24.655
they think of a mother
and a father,

00:05:24.655 --> 00:05:27.058
a dog, a pig,
and a goat,

00:05:27.058 --> 00:05:30.762
and that Golden Book view
of farming is a good view.

00:05:30.762 --> 00:05:32.497
But the '50s and '60s

00:05:32.497 --> 00:05:34.866
is when we had
a chemical revolution,

00:05:34.866 --> 00:05:37.335
and, boy,
did it make life easy.

00:05:37.335 --> 00:05:39.337
We weren't out hoeing.

00:05:39.337 --> 00:05:41.606
There was a chemical
for everything.

00:05:41.606 --> 00:05:44.242
It was the modern way to farm.

00:05:44.242 --> 00:05:49.647
But then my son got very ill,
and we didn't know what it was.

00:05:49.647 --> 00:05:51.917
The doctor said,
"Well, he's anemic."

00:05:51.917 --> 00:05:54.185
But actually
it was a precursor.

00:05:54.185 --> 00:05:57.189
Anemia is a precursor
a lot of times

00:05:57.189 --> 00:05:59.190
of leukemia, cancer.

00:05:59.190 --> 00:06:02.494
Then we discovered
that the water we were using

00:06:02.494 --> 00:06:04.329
was filled
with this pesticide.

00:06:04.329 --> 00:06:06.965
It wasn't one
that we were using,

00:06:06.965 --> 00:06:10.335
but it was one that
surrounding farms were using.

00:06:10.335 --> 00:06:12.604
(Cowan)
No matter where we traveled

00:06:12.604 --> 00:06:14.171
in California's
Central Valley--

00:06:14.171 --> 00:06:17.108
often called our nation's
fruit and vegetable basket--

00:06:17.108 --> 00:06:20.879
we were surrounded by crops
being sprayed with all sorts

00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:23.748
of insecticides, herbicides,
and fungicides.

00:06:23.748 --> 00:06:25.617
According to the state's

00:06:25.617 --> 00:06:27.619
Department
of Pesticide Regulation,

00:06:27.619 --> 00:06:30.288
over 100 million pounds
of these chemicals,

00:06:30.288 --> 00:06:32.290
many extremely toxic,

00:06:32.290 --> 00:06:36.461
are used each year
in the Central Valley alone.

00:06:39.430 --> 00:06:42.433
Because a lot of these
pesticides are known

00:06:42.433 --> 00:06:44.435
to get into surface water,

00:06:44.435 --> 00:06:46.437
underground aquifers,
and well water,

00:06:46.437 --> 00:06:50.308
we wondered if our government
is aware of the danger.

00:06:50.308 --> 00:06:52.377
♪

00:06:52.377 --> 00:06:55.947
(woman) We not only produce
an abundant food supply,

00:06:55.947 --> 00:06:58.950
we produce
a safe and affordable,

00:06:58.950 --> 00:07:02.854
the lowest per capita
of any other developed nation.

00:07:02.854 --> 00:07:06.057
The American food system
is completely safe.

00:07:06.057 --> 00:07:09.427
With many checks and balances
built into our system,

00:07:09.427 --> 00:07:11.429
it is completely safe.

00:07:11.429 --> 00:07:13.698
Our food supply
is completely safe.

00:07:13.698 --> 00:07:15.967
The most stable,
the most abundant,

00:07:15.967 --> 00:07:18.970
the safest, the most affordable
food and fiber

00:07:18.970 --> 00:07:21.673
of any country
in the world.

00:07:21.673 --> 00:07:24.675
(man) Agriculture is going
in a good direction.

00:07:24.675 --> 00:07:27.312
We have
the most abundant food supply,

00:07:27.312 --> 00:07:30.649
the best quality of food,
the safest food supply

00:07:30.649 --> 00:07:33.284
at the lowest cost
to our people.

00:07:33.284 --> 00:07:35.654
(Cowan) Charlie Stenholm
is a former member

00:07:35.654 --> 00:07:37.655
of the House
Agriculture Committee

00:07:37.655 --> 00:07:39.924
who agrees
with his former colleagues

00:07:39.924 --> 00:07:43.695
that all's well with our
nation's food and farm policy.

00:07:43.695 --> 00:07:46.164
He's now one of many lobbyists

00:07:46.164 --> 00:07:49.233
paid directly
by the agribusiness sector,

00:07:49.233 --> 00:07:51.436
which includes
the pesticide industry...

00:07:51.436 --> 00:07:55.574
At times, our industry
finds itself in disagreement

00:07:55.574 --> 00:07:57.342
with regulators.

00:07:57.342 --> 00:07:59.610
(Cowan) And the chemical
fertilizer industry.

00:07:59.610 --> 00:08:02.413
We're here to celebrate
the great harvest

00:08:02.413 --> 00:08:05.717
that's going on in our country
in agriculture.

00:08:05.717 --> 00:08:07.719
(Cowan) Along with pesticides,

00:08:07.719 --> 00:08:09.720
the chemical fertilizer

00:08:09.720 --> 00:08:12.123
being so well represented
on Capitol Hill

00:08:12.123 --> 00:08:14.592
is selling bigger than ever
these days

00:08:14.592 --> 00:08:17.228
to grow millions of acres
of corn,

00:08:17.228 --> 00:08:20.231
another crop being heavily
subsidized by our government

00:08:20.231 --> 00:08:22.867
along with the new
corn ethanol industry

00:08:22.867 --> 00:08:25.870
that makes fuel
from the grain.

00:08:25.870 --> 00:08:28.406
The problem is,
the excess nitrogen,

00:08:28.406 --> 00:08:30.408
along with
all the pesticides,

00:08:30.408 --> 00:08:32.410
contaminates
underground aquifers

00:08:32.410 --> 00:08:34.712
and eventually
flows to the sea,

00:08:34.712 --> 00:08:37.382
creating what
the U .S. Geological Survey

00:08:37.382 --> 00:08:41.152
describes as
an 8,000-square-mile dead zon.

00:08:43.054 --> 00:08:46.824
(woman)
I was doing a program
for elementary school kids,

00:08:46.824 --> 00:08:49.661
telling them what
a wonderful job we were doing

00:08:49.661 --> 00:08:51.529
raising
our commodity agriculture,

00:08:51.529 --> 00:08:53.397
how we treated the land.

00:08:53.397 --> 00:08:55.733
I had a field trip out here,

00:08:55.733 --> 00:08:59.737
and a boy knelt down by a stream
and started to get a drink.

00:08:59.737 --> 00:09:01.739
I said, "Don't drink that."

00:09:01.739 --> 00:09:05.076
That was a moment of truth
for me,

00:09:05.076 --> 00:09:08.579
that I was basically lying
to these kids,

00:09:08.579 --> 00:09:13.451
because if I was farming my land
the way it should be farmed,

00:09:13.451 --> 00:09:16.021
the water wouldn't be polluted.

00:09:17.922 --> 00:09:21.292
(man) My dad died of cancer,
63 years old,

00:09:21.292 --> 00:09:23.294
from the chemicals.

00:09:23.294 --> 00:09:25.597
If you had a bunch of people

00:09:25.597 --> 00:09:28.432
that say it's good
to jump off a cliff,

00:09:28.432 --> 00:09:31.068
I think they'd all
jump off a cliff.

00:09:31.068 --> 00:09:33.538
And if they say,
"Use this chemical."

00:09:33.538 --> 00:09:35.807
This is good,
this'll do it.

00:09:35.807 --> 00:09:38.509
But it all goes
to one place--

00:09:38.509 --> 00:09:40.445
into your wells,

00:09:40.445 --> 00:09:44.149
or it goes down the rivers,
in your drinking water.

00:09:45.850 --> 00:09:48.520
(Cowan)
It didn't take us long to lean

00:09:48.520 --> 00:09:50.855
that farmers growing
the so-called commodity crops,

00:09:50.855 --> 00:09:52.857
like cotton, corn,
and soybeans,

00:09:52.857 --> 00:09:56.227
get a very big hunk
of our tax dollars

00:09:56.227 --> 00:09:58.697
to help them operate this way.

00:10:00.664 --> 00:10:02.700
[car honk honks]

00:10:02.700 --> 00:10:05.436
♪

00:10:05.436 --> 00:10:07.438
Along with throwing parties--

00:10:07.438 --> 00:10:11.576
at times in this very chamber
where farm policy is made--

00:10:11.576 --> 00:10:13.844
lobbyists raise and distribute
campaign funds

00:10:13.844 --> 00:10:16.481
for many of the policy makers
themselves,

00:10:16.481 --> 00:10:18.749
money that comes
from industry executives

00:10:18.749 --> 00:10:20.785
and their political action
committees,

00:10:20.785 --> 00:10:22.053
known as PACs.

00:10:22.053 --> 00:10:24.055
Yes, we participate
in everything

00:10:24.055 --> 00:10:27.425
that's legal for us
to participate in, you know?

00:10:27.425 --> 00:10:29.527
Uh, we have a PAC.

00:10:29.527 --> 00:10:31.262
A number of our staff

00:10:31.262 --> 00:10:33.264
are registered
federal lobbyists.

00:10:33.264 --> 00:10:36.000
We'll organize a fund-raiser
for member X.

00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:38.068
We operate
a political action committee.

00:10:38.068 --> 00:10:40.338
We'll ask
the various agricultural groups

00:10:40.338 --> 00:10:42.440
to make contributions.

00:10:42.440 --> 00:10:44.509
We try to earn
a seat at the table.

00:10:44.509 --> 00:10:46.077
Blocking and tackling.

00:10:46.077 --> 00:10:49.180
You got to play
by the rules.

00:10:49.180 --> 00:10:51.082
The hardcore work
of lobbying.

00:10:51.082 --> 00:10:53.684
It's our system.

00:10:53.684 --> 00:10:56.854
(man) There's an ancient,
ancient art form of that.

00:10:56.854 --> 00:10:58.856
It's called whoring.

00:10:58.856 --> 00:11:00.891
It is disgusting
to watch.

00:11:00.891 --> 00:11:03.260
It's just
a scorekeeping exercise.

00:11:03.260 --> 00:11:06.631
You see the people
who gave you the money.

00:11:06.631 --> 00:11:08.966
In comes Joe, you know,
heavy hitter,

00:11:08.966 --> 00:11:12.136
and they say, "This guy
has maxed out on you.

00:11:12.136 --> 00:11:14.371
"He maxed out
in your first primary,

00:11:14.371 --> 00:11:16.641
"your first general,
your second primary."

00:11:16.641 --> 00:11:21.279
He and his wife and his children
are all in the game.

00:11:21.279 --> 00:11:24.115
You see them.
You really do see them.

00:11:24.115 --> 00:11:26.117
(man) What do they get?

00:11:26.117 --> 00:11:28.185
At least they get access.

00:11:28.185 --> 00:11:30.187
In Washington,
access is everything.

00:11:30.187 --> 00:11:32.691
This is almost extortion
or implicit extortion,

00:11:32.691 --> 00:11:34.859
where the government
turns to the private person,

00:11:34.859 --> 00:11:36.193
whom he's regulating,

00:11:36.193 --> 00:11:38.229
and says, "Help me
get into office."

00:11:38.229 --> 00:11:41.499
And, in some sense,
the private person likes that,

00:11:41.499 --> 00:11:43.767
'cause he likes
having the favor

00:11:43.767 --> 00:11:46.771
that he can cash in on
later on.

00:11:46.771 --> 00:11:49.807
(Cowan) Who receives the
campaign mony from agribusiness?

00:11:49.807 --> 00:11:52.276
I'm the chairman
of the subcommittee...

00:11:52.276 --> 00:11:54.912
(Cowan) According to the
Federal Election Commission,

00:11:54.912 --> 00:11:56.781
those who get the most

00:11:56.781 --> 00:11:59.049
tend to sit
on powerful committees

00:11:59.049 --> 00:12:01.352
that decide
what kind of agriculture

00:12:01.352 --> 00:12:02.987
our tax dollars support,

00:12:02.987 --> 00:12:04.856
like members
of appropriation committees

00:12:04.856 --> 00:12:07.192
and the congressional
agriculture committees.

00:12:07.192 --> 00:12:10.995
And why do they get big money
from giant companies

00:12:10.995 --> 00:12:14.332
that sell pesticides
and chemical fertilizer?

00:12:15.766 --> 00:12:18.569
We decided to check back
with Charlie Stenholm.

00:12:18.569 --> 00:12:20.305
He had the all-time record

00:12:20.305 --> 00:12:23.308
for taking agribusiness cash
when he was in office.

00:12:23.308 --> 00:12:26.311
(Stenholm) Why do members
of the Ag Committee

00:12:26.311 --> 00:12:27.444
receive the contributions?

00:12:27.444 --> 00:12:29.947
That's a very simple question.

00:12:29.947 --> 00:12:33.885
Because the Ag Committee
is where the decisions are made

00:12:33.885 --> 00:12:38.990
that affect the livelihood
of producers and consumers.

00:12:38.990 --> 00:12:39.791
♪ I like to eat ♪

00:12:39.791 --> 00:12:40.858
♪ I like to eat ♪

00:12:40.858 --> 00:12:42.693
♪ I like to eat ♪

00:12:42.693 --> 00:12:46.164
(Cowan) We thought we should check
with some consumer advocates

00:12:46.164 --> 00:12:47.899
that aren't funded
by agribusiness.

00:12:47.899 --> 00:12:50.167
(man)
We started off doing studies

00:12:50.167 --> 00:12:52.436
of pesticides
and other toxic chemicals

00:12:52.436 --> 00:12:54.705
in air, in food, in water.

00:12:54.705 --> 00:12:57.909
It occurred to us one day,
"Maybe we should test people."

00:12:57.909 --> 00:13:00.845
We started doing those tests,
and we're finding

00:13:00.845 --> 00:13:02.713
this incredible mixture
of chemicals,

00:13:02.713 --> 00:13:04.382
including pesticides,
in all of us.

00:13:04.382 --> 00:13:07.117
We found exposures
to babies in the womb.

00:13:07.117 --> 00:13:09.754
The U.S. EPA
is very aware

00:13:09.754 --> 00:13:12.390
that some pesticides
used on farm fields

00:13:12.390 --> 00:13:14.158
end up in the crops

00:13:14.158 --> 00:13:17.361
and in the food
that comes to our table.

00:13:17.361 --> 00:13:19.196
(Cook) Large percentages
of the produce

00:13:19.196 --> 00:13:21.065
we buy in the grocery store

00:13:21.065 --> 00:13:23.901
have low levels
of pesticide residue on them,

00:13:23.901 --> 00:13:25.369
in combination.

00:13:25.369 --> 00:13:28.405
There might be
a half a dozen or more

00:13:28.405 --> 00:13:30.541
on a single serving
of salad.

00:13:30.541 --> 00:13:31.975
The problem is that EPA

00:13:31.975 --> 00:13:34.245
doesn't consider this
in its assessments.

00:13:34.245 --> 00:13:35.913
We don't know very much

00:13:35.913 --> 00:13:38.582
about how these mixtures act
in our body

00:13:38.582 --> 00:13:40.118
when they're all together.

00:13:40.118 --> 00:13:44.588
What we do know is that when
we are exposed to mixtures,

00:13:44.588 --> 00:13:47.291
they're far more toxic
to our bodies,

00:13:47.291 --> 00:13:50.194
possibly because
we're simply overloaded.

00:13:50.194 --> 00:13:52.196
Less than half of 1%

00:13:52.196 --> 00:13:54.832
of all the farmland
in this country

00:13:54.832 --> 00:13:58.202
is producing crops and livestock
organically, half of 1%.

00:13:58.202 --> 00:14:00.204
We invest almost nothing

00:14:00.204 --> 00:14:03.575
in helping farmers transition
from conventional to organic.

00:14:06.711 --> 00:14:08.713
(Cowan) Could the tiny percentage

00:14:08.713 --> 00:14:10.981
of U.S. farmland
growing organic

00:14:10.981 --> 00:14:12.183
have anything to do

00:14:12.183 --> 00:14:14.351
with the higher price
of this food?

00:14:14.351 --> 00:14:17.222
We thought we should get
a businessman's point of view.

00:14:17.222 --> 00:14:19.190
(man) Absolutely there's a correlation

00:14:19.190 --> 00:14:21.826
between greater volume
and price coming down.

00:14:21.826 --> 00:14:24.462
With organic milk,
it used to be

00:14:24.462 --> 00:14:26.330
100% more expensive
than conventional.

00:14:26.330 --> 00:14:29.199
Now it's more like
35% or 40%.

00:14:29.199 --> 00:14:31.435
♪

00:14:31.435 --> 00:14:34.438
(Stenholm) I don't believe
it would be possible

00:14:34.438 --> 00:14:36.440
to feed the world
organically.

00:14:36.440 --> 00:14:38.443
2 billion people
would be starving

00:14:38.443 --> 00:14:40.044
or have to go away.

00:14:40.044 --> 00:14:43.047
We would quickly become
a net food importer

00:14:43.047 --> 00:14:45.082
in the United States.

00:14:45.082 --> 00:14:47.185
[machine whirring]

00:14:47.185 --> 00:14:49.454
(Cowan) The idea
that organic agriculture

00:14:49.454 --> 00:14:51.455
can't produce enough food

00:14:51.455 --> 00:14:54.458
sounded sort of scientific
coming from these lobbyists.

00:14:54.458 --> 00:14:57.494
So we thought
we'd visit a few farms.

00:14:57.494 --> 00:15:02.400
♪

00:15:02.400 --> 00:15:05.736
(woman) Our plants get
a more balanced diet.

00:15:05.736 --> 00:15:07.738
We have cover crops--

00:15:07.738 --> 00:15:10.374
crops that we grow
for the soil.

00:15:10.374 --> 00:15:13.344
And with
a lot of different plants

00:15:13.344 --> 00:15:15.346
growing in the same field,

00:15:15.346 --> 00:15:18.716
the pests don't really
build up in their populations

00:15:18.716 --> 00:15:23.221
as much as they would
if it were 300 acres of spinach.

00:15:23.221 --> 00:15:27.825
(man) Right now, our yields
are meeting the county averages,

00:15:27.825 --> 00:15:31.963
and if we had proper
seed breeding for organics,

00:15:31.963 --> 00:15:33.965
we like to think

00:15:33.965 --> 00:15:36.734
that we would even exceed
those averages.

00:15:36.734 --> 00:15:39.736
(woman) We've shown in our
research at Iowa State University

00:15:39.736 --> 00:15:41.839
that you can get equal
or higher yields

00:15:41.839 --> 00:15:43.541
in organic production.

00:15:43.541 --> 00:15:46.143
We don't use herbicides,
so we don't have a concern

00:15:46.143 --> 00:15:48.412
about herbicides
getting into the groundwater

00:15:48.412 --> 00:15:50.414
in organic production.

00:15:50.414 --> 00:15:52.950
(Cowan) The more time we spent
around this kind of farming,

00:15:52.950 --> 00:15:54.418
the more we wondered

00:15:54.418 --> 00:15:57.321
what our government
might be doing to encourage i.

00:15:57.321 --> 00:15:59.590
Not only is organic food
expensive,

00:15:59.590 --> 00:16:02.092
but many of the conventional
farmers we met,

00:16:02.092 --> 00:16:03.493
like Jim Kalbach,

00:16:03.493 --> 00:16:05.996
would also like
to use less chemicals,

00:16:05.996 --> 00:16:07.498
but there's a catch.

00:16:07.498 --> 00:16:09.500
(Kalbach) You just can't say,

00:16:09.500 --> 00:16:12.135
"I'm gonna go
to organic next year."

00:16:12.135 --> 00:16:15.173
It takes years
to get geared for that.

00:16:15.173 --> 00:16:19.476
It's just so much easier
to put the chemicals on.

00:16:19.476 --> 00:16:22.847
(Cowan) So it takes some different
gear and new research,

00:16:22.847 --> 00:16:25.216
but with the billions
of tax dollars

00:16:25.216 --> 00:16:26.684
we spend on agriculture

00:16:26.684 --> 00:16:29.187
and all the farmers
who'd like to make the switch,

00:16:29.187 --> 00:16:31.355
shouldn't we be
helping them make it?

00:16:31.355 --> 00:16:34.725
(man #1) Mr. Chairman,
I rise to offer an amendment

00:16:34.725 --> 00:16:37.395
that will increase funding
for organic transitions.

00:16:37.395 --> 00:16:40.097
The research
to assist the farmers

00:16:40.097 --> 00:16:43.501
has been holding steady
at just under $2 million

00:16:43.501 --> 00:16:45.770
for the last several
fiscal years.

00:16:45.770 --> 00:16:48.839
(man #2) I rise in opposition
to the amendment.

00:16:48.839 --> 00:16:50.274
The amendment
proposes to increase

00:16:50.274 --> 00:16:53.544
the Organic Transitions Program
by over $3 million.

00:16:53.544 --> 00:16:57.347
(Cowan) Maybe these politicians
are just trying to save money,

00:16:57.347 --> 00:16:59.683
but it seems like
$3 million,

00:16:59.683 --> 00:17:01.852
compared to the subsidies
they give each year

00:17:01.852 --> 00:17:03.921
for commodity crops,

00:17:03.921 --> 00:17:05.923
is not a lot.

00:17:05.923 --> 00:17:07.524
(Cook) There's a lot of money

00:17:07.524 --> 00:17:09.426
to be made
in the pesticide business.

00:17:09.426 --> 00:17:11.762
These pesticide companies
push back very hard

00:17:11.762 --> 00:17:13.230
when there's any attempt

00:17:13.230 --> 00:17:15.600
to limit the use
of these chemicals.

00:17:17.835 --> 00:17:19.837
(Cowan) The bigger the farm,

00:17:19.837 --> 00:17:21.839
the more commodities
you can grow.

00:17:21.839 --> 00:17:23.841
The more commodities
you grow,

00:17:23.841 --> 00:17:26.110
the bigger
the government subsidy check.

00:17:26.110 --> 00:17:28.012
And the bigger
the subsidies,

00:17:28.012 --> 00:17:30.347
the more pesticides
and chemical fertilizer

00:17:30.347 --> 00:17:31.982
gets sold.

00:17:31.982 --> 00:17:33.484
It helped us
understand the game,

00:17:33.484 --> 00:17:35.886
but not all the growers
are happy with it.

00:17:35.886 --> 00:17:40.158
The more you farm, you can't pay
as much attention to every acre.

00:17:40.158 --> 00:17:42.593
(woman) You don't have time
to pick the sprayer up

00:17:42.593 --> 00:17:44.361
as you go through
the waterways,

00:17:44.361 --> 00:17:46.697
and pretty soon
your waterways are dead.

00:17:46.697 --> 00:17:51.068
This is what they pay us for,
so we do this.

00:17:51.068 --> 00:17:54.805
(Cowan) So what is it
about this type of agriculture,

00:17:54.805 --> 00:17:56.807
the world's
most chemical-intensive,

00:17:56.807 --> 00:17:59.310
that appeals so much
to our government?

00:17:59.310 --> 00:18:01.712
(Cook) In fairness to them,
they want to defend

00:18:01.712 --> 00:18:03.547
the interests
of their constituents.

00:18:03.547 --> 00:18:06.850
That may be a chemical company,
it may be a farmer.

00:18:06.850 --> 00:18:08.852
Another factor is money.

00:18:08.852 --> 00:18:12.623
What they need to survive
in our political system

00:18:12.623 --> 00:18:14.625
is campaign contributions.

00:18:14.625 --> 00:18:16.627
A good source of money

00:18:16.627 --> 00:18:18.963
is a pesticide industry
representative.

00:18:18.963 --> 00:18:22.733
(Blanche Lincoln) Our farm policy
seeks to do one thing

00:18:22.733 --> 00:18:24.735
for all of our farmers--

00:18:24.735 --> 00:18:27.371
to provide for those producers
of commodities

00:18:27.371 --> 00:18:30.373
a strong level of support,
a safety net.

00:18:30.373 --> 00:18:32.376
(Cowan) In 2006 and 2008,

00:18:32.376 --> 00:18:35.412
members of the House and Senae
Agriculture Committees

00:18:35.412 --> 00:18:38.082
received over $25 million
in campaign contributions

00:18:38.082 --> 00:18:40.084
from agribusiness,

00:18:40.084 --> 00:18:42.086
a good part of which

00:18:42.086 --> 00:18:44.622
came from the pesticide
and fertilizer industries.

00:18:44.622 --> 00:18:47.524
When I first got here,
I had to try to raise money.

00:18:47.524 --> 00:18:49.327
Now the money just comes in.

00:18:49.327 --> 00:18:51.695
I don't know
where it comes from.

00:18:51.695 --> 00:18:54.999
It goes to my treasurer.
I don't worry about it.

00:18:54.999 --> 00:18:58.102
(Lessig) We're not dealing
with evil people.

00:18:58.102 --> 00:19:00.337
They're doing
really hard work,

00:19:00.337 --> 00:19:03.441
and they think they're doing
the public's good.

00:19:03.441 --> 00:19:05.209
But the reality is,

00:19:05.209 --> 00:19:08.212
because they have to focus
themselves on money,

00:19:08.212 --> 00:19:10.214
the work is distorted.

00:19:10.214 --> 00:19:12.850
So overall
the system becomes corrupt.

00:19:12.850 --> 00:19:14.685
[mouse clicks]

00:19:14.685 --> 00:19:17.421
(Cowan) Any member of Congress
who needs reminding

00:19:17.421 --> 00:19:19.857
of where their campaign money
comes from

00:19:19.857 --> 00:19:22.159
could just go
to the Internet.

00:19:22.159 --> 00:19:25.863
(woman) OpenSecrets.org
is nonpartisan.

00:19:25.863 --> 00:19:28.499
You can get
at the transaction-level detal

00:19:28.499 --> 00:19:30.000
on members of Congress,

00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:31.902
on the industries
and interest groups

00:19:31.902 --> 00:19:33.770
that fund campaigns,

00:19:33.770 --> 00:19:35.772
so that you can really take

00:19:35.772 --> 00:19:38.042
that bird's-eye view
if you want,

00:19:38.042 --> 00:19:41.044
or you can get
into the nitty-gritty detail.

00:19:41.044 --> 00:19:44.048
We want our data
to be absolutely reliable,

00:19:44.048 --> 00:19:46.316
no matter
what your political stripes.

00:19:46.316 --> 00:19:48.318
It's important
that people understand

00:19:48.318 --> 00:19:50.955
how money greases the skids
in Washington,

00:19:50.955 --> 00:19:52.589
because it does.

00:19:52.589 --> 00:19:55.960
(man) It's the big forces
that are beating us.

00:19:55.960 --> 00:19:58.228
They elect people
with their money.

00:19:58.228 --> 00:20:01.799
They help them in office
with their lobbying.

00:20:01.799 --> 00:20:04.402
And therefore
they get advantages

00:20:04.402 --> 00:20:07.738
that the rest of the people
don't get.

00:20:07.738 --> 00:20:10.841
(Griffeon) We would like to do
the right thing,

00:20:10.841 --> 00:20:13.911
but we're not subsidized
to do the right thing.

00:20:13.911 --> 00:20:16.480
We've taken the culture
out of agriculture.

00:20:18.616 --> 00:20:23.253
[man singing opera]

00:20:23.253 --> 00:20:26.723
♪

00:20:26.723 --> 00:20:28.992
(Cowan) Where does energy
come from?

00:20:28.992 --> 00:20:30.995
I've noticed that
sometimes--

00:20:30.995 --> 00:20:34.031
it might come
from the wires partly, though,

00:20:34.031 --> 00:20:36.667
because the wires,
they connect to buildings,

00:20:36.667 --> 00:20:39.369
and therefore, it works.

00:20:39.369 --> 00:20:46.910
♪

00:20:46.910 --> 00:20:48.913
(Cowan) After food and water,

00:20:48.913 --> 00:20:52.649
we figured energy is probably
our next most basic need,

00:20:52.649 --> 00:20:56.153
so we decided to track down
a group of citizens

00:20:56.153 --> 00:21:00.324
with a unique point of view
on our nation's energy policy.

00:21:00.324 --> 00:21:01.992
(man) Good morning,
ladies and gentlemen.

00:21:01.992 --> 00:21:03.393
Welcome to another edition

00:21:03.393 --> 00:21:04.795
of Veterans' Views
radio program.

00:21:04.795 --> 00:21:06.797
This is
Commander Pat O'Donnell,

00:21:06.797 --> 00:21:10.167
and we have our guests today
from Operation Free.

00:21:10.167 --> 00:21:12.436
That's the bus
that travels around.

00:21:12.436 --> 00:21:16.140
You'd like to tell us
a little bit about it?

00:21:16.140 --> 00:21:18.776
(woman) Yeah.
It's a group of veterans.

00:21:18.776 --> 00:21:20.644
We volunteered
to come together,

00:21:20.644 --> 00:21:23.714
get on this big blue RV,
travel around,

00:21:23.714 --> 00:21:27.284
and kind of educate people
on our energy policy,

00:21:27.284 --> 00:21:29.286
national security,
and climate change.

00:21:29.286 --> 00:21:32.623
(man) I'm not sure that
any one issue effects me

00:21:32.623 --> 00:21:34.624
more than our energy policy.

00:21:34.624 --> 00:21:37.027
It is directly related
to our national security

00:21:37.027 --> 00:21:39.897
and our men and women
in the military.

00:21:39.897 --> 00:21:43.100
I don't have children,
but my friends do.

00:21:43.100 --> 00:21:45.735
I don't want
to see their children

00:21:45.735 --> 00:21:47.638
have to go somewhere else

00:21:47.638 --> 00:21:51.041
and possibly get blown up
and get shot at

00:21:51.041 --> 00:21:54.044
for stuff that
we could have solved today.

00:21:54.044 --> 00:21:57.047
(man) I was a vehicle commander
in Iraq,

00:21:57.047 --> 00:22:00.050
and one night,
they got a distress call

00:22:00.050 --> 00:22:03.120
from a convoy
that had just been hit

00:22:03.120 --> 00:22:05.923
by a liquid-napalm-style IED.

00:22:05.923 --> 00:22:08.425
Those guys
were just devastated.

00:22:08.425 --> 00:22:10.761
You know,
it's not worth it,

00:22:10.761 --> 00:22:14.564
when you're talking
about diesel fuel or gasoline.

00:22:14.564 --> 00:22:16.567
It's not worth it.

00:22:16.567 --> 00:22:20.337
You know,
those guys lost lives,

00:22:20.337 --> 00:22:23.707
friends, loved ones
for that.

00:22:23.707 --> 00:22:26.276
(Victoriano)
Going back to Iraq in 2003,

00:22:26.276 --> 00:22:28.545
it's hard to say right now

00:22:28.545 --> 00:22:31.181
what the motivation
truly was for that,

00:22:31.181 --> 00:22:34.251
but we get
close to 60% of our oil,

00:22:34.251 --> 00:22:37.621
which we depend upon
for our way of life,

00:22:37.621 --> 00:22:39.623
from overseas,

00:22:39.623 --> 00:22:42.293
countries who we know
directly support extremists.

00:22:42.293 --> 00:22:46.097
The fact that we're funding
both sides of a war

00:22:46.097 --> 00:22:48.599
is completely...

00:22:48.599 --> 00:22:50.601
It confounds me.

00:22:50.601 --> 00:22:53.604
(man) I don't think
you can ever say

00:22:53.604 --> 00:22:56.306
that any conflict
is about one thing,

00:22:56.306 --> 00:22:58.675
particularly something
as intense as Iraq.

00:22:58.675 --> 00:23:01.678
That said, if you
were to have taken

00:23:01.678 --> 00:23:04.748
the appropriations
that have gone into the war

00:23:04.748 --> 00:23:07.417
and instead went
to renewable energy,

00:23:07.417 --> 00:23:09.420
we could have covered

00:23:09.420 --> 00:23:11.589
all the needed
global investments

00:23:11.589 --> 00:23:13.590
in renewable energy

00:23:13.590 --> 00:23:16.761
to combat climate change
between now and 2030.

00:23:16.761 --> 00:23:18.362
[helicopter]

00:23:18.362 --> 00:23:21.165
(Cowan) Nearly all
our elected representatives

00:23:21.165 --> 00:23:24.534
tend to agree on the need
for energy independence.

00:23:24.534 --> 00:23:27.203
The debate
is over how to produce

00:23:27.203 --> 00:23:29.206
this homegrown energy.

00:23:29.206 --> 00:23:32.976
(Kretzman) What we have in this
country doesn't begin to resemble

00:23:32.976 --> 00:23:36.046
what you would design
for a rational energy path.

00:23:36.046 --> 00:23:38.315
What we have in this country

00:23:38.315 --> 00:23:41.385
is a complete hodgepodge
of accommodations

00:23:41.385 --> 00:23:43.720
to a variety
of special interests

00:23:43.720 --> 00:23:46.056
that politicians
are afraid of offending

00:23:46.056 --> 00:23:49.359
and whose support they need
to get reelected.

00:23:49.359 --> 00:23:51.528
(Cowan)
We weren't surprised to learn

00:23:51.528 --> 00:23:53.831
that members of Congress
in both parties

00:23:53.831 --> 00:23:55.832
accept large
campaign contributions

00:23:55.832 --> 00:23:57.801
from the fossil fuel
industries,

00:23:57.801 --> 00:23:59.570
but we wondered
what the industries

00:23:59.570 --> 00:24:02.072
might expect as a return
on their investment.

00:24:02.072 --> 00:24:03.874
(woman)
Taxpayers for Common Sense

00:24:03.874 --> 00:24:05.609
is a nonpartisan
budget watchdog.

00:24:05.609 --> 00:24:07.611
We look
for wasteful spending,

00:24:07.611 --> 00:24:10.247
especially for wasteful spending
that's also harmful

00:24:10.247 --> 00:24:12.883
or that shows
corruption in the system.

00:24:12.883 --> 00:24:14.885
We work from the premise

00:24:14.885 --> 00:24:17.154
that nobody wants
their money wasted.

00:24:17.154 --> 00:24:19.156
The coal industry--

00:24:19.156 --> 00:24:21.858
particularly right now
because of climate legislation,

00:24:21.858 --> 00:24:24.561
because there's a desire
in the public

00:24:24.561 --> 00:24:27.464
to kind of have
cleaner energy--

00:24:27.464 --> 00:24:30.834
the coal industry
is spending a ton of money,

00:24:30.834 --> 00:24:33.103
and they get benefits
in return.

00:24:33.103 --> 00:24:35.105
There's tax credits
and subsidies

00:24:35.105 --> 00:24:37.107
riddled throughout
their business model,

00:24:37.107 --> 00:24:39.576
and that's something
that they depend on.

00:24:39.576 --> 00:24:41.578
They get a lot of subsidies.

00:24:41.578 --> 00:24:45.515
There's a lot of public money
going into producing coal.

00:24:45.515 --> 00:24:47.517
(Cowan) Open Secrets shows

00:24:47.517 --> 00:24:51.288
that the oil and gas industry
also invests big money

00:24:51.288 --> 00:24:53.557
in what they call
"government relations,"

00:24:53.557 --> 00:24:56.660
well over $1 billion
just on lobbying over 12 years

00:24:56.660 --> 00:24:58.529
and, since 1990,

00:24:58.529 --> 00:25:01.532
more than a quarter billion
on election campaigns.

00:25:01.532 --> 00:25:04.435
(man)
We are outgunned
by the fossil fuel industry

00:25:04.435 --> 00:25:06.437
in terms
of lobbying dollars.

00:25:06.437 --> 00:25:08.839
(Cowan) Don Furman,
now in wind power,

00:25:08.839 --> 00:25:12.276
once worked for a utility
that generated power from coa.

00:25:12.276 --> 00:25:14.945
My son is more proud
of what I do.

00:25:14.945 --> 00:25:17.314
He actually tells his friends
what I do

00:25:17.314 --> 00:25:20.317
and told me
he thought it was cool.

00:25:20.317 --> 00:25:23.554
It is profitable,
but it's a difficult industry.

00:25:23.554 --> 00:25:26.957
We don't have the ability
to host a fund-raiser

00:25:26.957 --> 00:25:28.992
for the House
of Representatives.

00:25:28.992 --> 00:25:30.994
(Cowan) From 2002 through 2008,

00:25:30.994 --> 00:25:32.996
the fossil fuel industry

00:25:32.996 --> 00:25:36.800
contributed over $86 million
to members of Congress.

00:25:36.800 --> 00:25:39.803
Meanwhile, renewables couldn't
even muster $3 million.

00:25:39.803 --> 00:25:41.805
They're supporting
their campaigns.

00:25:41.805 --> 00:25:44.207
They're getting
the policy results they want.

00:25:44.207 --> 00:25:48.678
Seventy billion dollars went
to the fossil fuel industry.

00:25:48.678 --> 00:25:52.048
At the same time,
you had about $12 billion

00:25:52.048 --> 00:25:54.351
going to the renewable energy
industry.

00:25:54.351 --> 00:25:57.020
It's not exactly
a level playing field.

00:25:57.020 --> 00:26:01.358
(man) The energy pie as it
exists in this country today

00:26:01.358 --> 00:26:05.362
overwhelmingly is dominated
by fossil fuels.

00:26:05.362 --> 00:26:08.699
So given that solar
and wind together

00:26:08.699 --> 00:26:12.035
occupy a fraction of 1%...

00:26:12.035 --> 00:26:14.038
[gunshot]

00:26:14.038 --> 00:26:16.840
(Cowan) Scott Segal is one
of many lobbyists

00:26:16.840 --> 00:26:18.842
who represent coal-fired
electric utilities

00:26:18.842 --> 00:26:20.544
and petroleum refiners.

00:26:20.544 --> 00:26:23.714
It should not surprise anybody
that to the extent

00:26:23.714 --> 00:26:25.883
that there's money available
for innovation,

00:26:25.883 --> 00:26:28.886
it's not going to be as large
for solar and wind

00:26:28.886 --> 00:26:30.721
as it would be
for more conventional sources

00:26:30.721 --> 00:26:31.889
of fossil fuel.

00:26:31.889 --> 00:26:34.158
(man)
We have a defense practice.

00:26:34.158 --> 00:26:37.928
We have an energy practice.
We have a climate practice.

00:26:37.928 --> 00:26:41.765
What we're trying to do
is influence policy makers

00:26:41.765 --> 00:26:44.567
in a way
that they understand

00:26:44.567 --> 00:26:48.471
the effect of legislation
on our client.

00:26:48.471 --> 00:26:50.741
(man)
Today on April Fools' Day,

00:26:50.741 --> 00:26:53.777
the major oil companies
are opposing legislation

00:26:53.777 --> 00:26:55.645
that would take $18 billion

00:26:55.645 --> 00:26:57.914
in tax breaks
they currently receive

00:26:57.914 --> 00:26:59.916
and redirect it

00:26:59.916 --> 00:27:02.853
to renewable fuels
and clean energy.

00:27:02.853 --> 00:27:06.155
(Cowan) When gasoline
hit $4 a gallon in 2008,

00:27:06.155 --> 00:27:08.358
we heard about
a congressional hearing

00:27:08.358 --> 00:27:12.129
where oil company CEOs would e
asked about their subsidies.

00:27:12.129 --> 00:27:15.165
The five companies
sitting before us today netted

00:27:15.165 --> 00:27:19.435
a combined $123 billion,

00:27:19.435 --> 00:27:22.372
the greatest corporate profit
in history.

00:27:22.372 --> 00:27:25.408
(man) I'm really glad
that you're here today.

00:27:25.408 --> 00:27:28.612
(Cowan) We couldn't help but notice
that some committee members

00:27:28.612 --> 00:27:30.981
seemed to want
to sympathize with the CEOs...

00:27:30.981 --> 00:27:33.283
(man)
Have you ever lost money?

00:27:33.283 --> 00:27:35.285
You've lost money, too.

00:27:35.285 --> 00:27:37.487
(Cowan)
While others were more direct.

00:27:37.487 --> 00:27:39.055
We could get the impression

00:27:39.055 --> 00:27:40.924
that the oil industry
is struggling.

00:27:40.924 --> 00:27:43.993
(man) We're working hard.
Life is not easy.

00:27:43.993 --> 00:27:46.663
Your stock ended yesterday
at 85.13.

00:27:46.663 --> 00:27:50.300
Exxon was 85.45.
Closed out yesterday.

00:27:50.300 --> 00:27:53.003
That doesn't sound
much like a struggle.

00:27:53.003 --> 00:27:54.838
If I was one
of your shareholders...

00:27:54.838 --> 00:27:57.974
(Cowan) We also noticed that
members asking the hard questions

00:27:57.974 --> 00:27:59.843
tend to receive
less campaign money

00:27:59.843 --> 00:28:01.912
from the oil and gas
industry.

00:28:01.912 --> 00:28:03.847
Is that correct,
Mr. Simon?

00:28:03.847 --> 00:28:06.116
(O'Donnell) Welcome back
to Veterans' Views.

00:28:06.116 --> 00:28:10.253
(man) How about solar power?
Where do we stand right now?

00:28:10.253 --> 00:28:11.922
(woman) It's growing.

00:28:11.922 --> 00:28:13.923
Unfortunately
the oil companies

00:28:13.923 --> 00:28:15.925
and these other
special interests

00:28:15.925 --> 00:28:19.063
want to keep it
at the same old, same old.

00:28:19.063 --> 00:28:22.065
They don't want to see
these resources developed,

00:28:22.065 --> 00:28:25.068
because it takes away
from their bottom line.

00:28:25.068 --> 00:28:27.337
(Cowan) The development
of clean energy

00:28:27.337 --> 00:28:29.640
might threaten
the fossil fuel industries,

00:28:29.640 --> 00:28:32.375
but why would Congress,
year after year,

00:28:32.375 --> 00:28:36.012
vote down support
to this technology?

00:28:36.012 --> 00:28:41.951
(man) We have 28% to 30%
of all the coal in the world.

00:28:41.951 --> 00:28:44.688
I'm wearing
this red shirt today...

00:28:44.688 --> 00:28:46.256
It's a transfer-of-wealth
bill.

00:28:46.256 --> 00:28:49.459
...is the color of the bill--
Communist red.

00:28:49.459 --> 00:28:50.694
A bad bill.

00:28:50.694 --> 00:28:53.296
Bad for America.
It's bad for our economy.

00:28:53.296 --> 00:28:54.898
It deserves to be defeated.

00:28:54.898 --> 00:28:56.366
Global warming
is not occurring.

00:28:56.366 --> 00:28:58.401
One of the most
overreaching...

00:28:58.401 --> 00:28:59.836
Filled with misinformation.

00:28:59.836 --> 00:29:02.005
They're going to tax
the air you breathe.

00:29:02.005 --> 00:29:03.173
It's offensive
in the extreme.

00:29:03.173 --> 00:29:05.174
Jobs will go to China.

00:29:05.174 --> 00:29:07.844
It's bad for business,
bad for the environment.

00:29:07.844 --> 00:29:09.813
And the economy
will go to hell.

00:29:09.813 --> 00:29:11.081
Just vote no.

00:29:11.081 --> 00:29:12.783
(man) Gentleman's time
has expired.

00:29:12.783 --> 00:29:16.652
(Cowan) On the House floor, energy
may seem like a partisan issue.

00:29:16.652 --> 00:29:18.488
But in the committee rooms,

00:29:18.488 --> 00:29:20.624
where clean energy bills
get drafted,

00:29:20.624 --> 00:29:23.159
members on both sides
of the aisle

00:29:23.159 --> 00:29:25.328
quietly build in allowances
for industries

00:29:25.328 --> 00:29:28.799
that tend to support
their election campaigns.

00:29:28.799 --> 00:29:32.202
But maybe our leaders are just
making smart policy

00:29:32.202 --> 00:29:35.572
with the help of industries
that bankroll their campaigns.

00:29:35.572 --> 00:29:40.043
If so, their arguments should
hold up to expert scrutiny.

00:29:40.043 --> 00:29:41.611
[bell dings]

00:29:41.611 --> 00:29:44.614
It will drive this country
into a depression.

00:29:44.614 --> 00:29:46.450
Jobs will not be available,

00:29:46.450 --> 00:29:48.185
and we'll not be
competitive globally.

00:29:48.185 --> 00:29:50.187
Now is not the time

00:29:50.187 --> 00:29:53.356
to export major job-producing
industries overseas.

00:29:53.356 --> 00:29:55.725
The notion that there's
a pollution haven,

00:29:55.725 --> 00:29:57.561
that companies will run away

00:29:57.561 --> 00:29:59.963
to wherever
they get the best deal

00:29:59.963 --> 00:30:01.765
on environmental regulation

00:30:01.765 --> 00:30:03.734
are documented with studies
from two lobbies

00:30:03.734 --> 00:30:07.237
which had made up their minds
in advance what the answer was

00:30:07.237 --> 00:30:09.339
and found consulting firms
that would say it.

00:30:09.339 --> 00:30:11.641
No one else can reproduce
those numbers.

00:30:11.641 --> 00:30:13.744
(man) We're gonna create
a few jobs

00:30:13.744 --> 00:30:16.079
while we're setting up
these wind towers

00:30:16.079 --> 00:30:17.347
or the solar arrays.

00:30:17.347 --> 00:30:19.515
There is an initial flush
of jobs,

00:30:19.515 --> 00:30:21.051
but they quickly go away.

00:30:21.051 --> 00:30:23.287
The jobs aren't just
on the wind farms.

00:30:23.287 --> 00:30:24.654
We employ everything

00:30:24.654 --> 00:30:27.157
from permitting to development
to operations.

00:30:27.157 --> 00:30:29.158
The vast majority
of solar technology

00:30:29.158 --> 00:30:31.428
is in the form
of solar panels.

00:30:31.428 --> 00:30:33.430
These are plastic boxes,

00:30:33.430 --> 00:30:36.366
a relatively unsophisticated
plastic box.

00:30:36.366 --> 00:30:39.035
Of course,
they're manufactured in China.

00:30:39.035 --> 00:30:41.037
Solar manufacturing
is one

00:30:41.037 --> 00:30:44.140
of the most sophisticated
high-tech industries there is.

00:30:44.140 --> 00:30:46.410
This country invented
the renewables industry,

00:30:46.410 --> 00:30:47.810
and we gave it away

00:30:47.810 --> 00:30:51.147
because we did not have
the appropriate federal support.

00:30:51.147 --> 00:30:52.916
We have the opportunity
to get that back.

00:30:52.916 --> 00:30:54.184
[bell dings]

00:30:54.184 --> 00:30:56.787
Are we playing a role?
I question that.

00:30:56.787 --> 00:30:59.122
Are we getting warmer?
That's in doubt.

00:30:59.122 --> 00:31:01.458
We ought to question
those assumptions.

00:31:01.458 --> 00:31:02.959
The relevant
scientific community,

00:31:02.959 --> 00:31:05.695
the people who study
the climate system,

00:31:05.695 --> 00:31:07.697
there is
an overwhelming agreement

00:31:07.697 --> 00:31:09.366
that climate is changing.

00:31:09.366 --> 00:31:11.968
Very likely, most
of the last 50 years of warming

00:31:11.968 --> 00:31:13.937
is due to human activities.

00:31:13.937 --> 00:31:16.940
"Very likely" to us
means greater than 90%.

00:31:16.940 --> 00:31:20.376
That is a fear attempt
to control people.

00:31:20.376 --> 00:31:23.046
It's a made-up urgency
to try to scare people.

00:31:23.046 --> 00:31:26.917
(Higgins) A large number of scientists
are genuinely concerned.

00:31:26.917 --> 00:31:30.119
That's different
than being a fear monger.

00:31:30.119 --> 00:31:32.321
If you put
enough windmills in,

00:31:32.321 --> 00:31:34.858
would you deter the Earth
from turning?

00:31:34.858 --> 00:31:37.027
Because wind
is turned and created

00:31:37.027 --> 00:31:40.063
by change of atmosphere
and the turning of the earth.

00:31:40.063 --> 00:31:42.666
If we put enough windmills up,
what will happen?

00:31:42.666 --> 00:31:44.067
No one's studied that yet,

00:31:44.067 --> 00:31:46.703
but there's gonna be
somebody studying that.

00:31:46.703 --> 00:31:48.705
[laughs]

00:31:48.705 --> 00:31:52.742
Well, we know that the Earth
will continue turning.

00:31:52.742 --> 00:31:55.111
So...

00:31:55.111 --> 00:31:57.413
(male announcer)
Congress is considering a law

00:31:57.413 --> 00:31:59.649
that would classify
carbon dioxide as pollution.

00:31:59.649 --> 00:32:01.485
This will cost us jobs.

00:32:01.485 --> 00:32:03.753
(woman) The oil and gas industry

00:32:03.753 --> 00:32:09.158
has already spent $120 million
on lobbying this year so far.

00:32:09.158 --> 00:32:12.929
(Conaway) No one group
can give me enough money,

00:32:12.929 --> 00:32:15.265
or any member of Congress,

00:32:15.265 --> 00:32:17.601
you know,
to sway their opinion,

00:32:17.601 --> 00:32:19.603
I don't think.

00:32:19.603 --> 00:32:23.372
We've had some notable examples
where guys had a list,

00:32:23.372 --> 00:32:25.108
and here's, you know...

00:32:25.108 --> 00:32:27.076
(Young) This is media hype.

00:32:27.076 --> 00:32:29.512
This idea that money
is gonna buy influence

00:32:29.512 --> 00:32:31.515
is nonsense.

00:32:31.515 --> 00:32:34.518
I'm one of these people--
You can check my records.

00:32:34.518 --> 00:32:39.055
I don't get a lot of money
from any one special group.

00:32:39.055 --> 00:32:41.057
(Russo) It's insulting to hear

00:32:41.057 --> 00:32:43.259
that the members of Congress
are bought off.

00:32:43.259 --> 00:32:45.127
They are not bought off.

00:32:45.127 --> 00:32:46.996
They don't pay to play.

00:32:46.996 --> 00:32:50.166
If I'm talking to some group,
I honestly can't tell you

00:32:50.166 --> 00:32:52.602
without being reminded
or looking at a list

00:32:52.602 --> 00:32:56.606
whether or not they gave me
any money or how much.

00:32:56.606 --> 00:32:59.576
Liar, liar, pants on fire.

00:32:59.576 --> 00:33:01.878
You know, I think it's true

00:33:01.878 --> 00:33:05.181
that they don't watch
every check that comes in,

00:33:05.181 --> 00:33:07.651
but they start shaping
their voting record

00:33:07.651 --> 00:33:10.386
based on where that resource
is coming from.

00:33:10.386 --> 00:33:12.522
They know the players
because they're sitting

00:33:12.522 --> 00:33:15.291
in front of the committees
and subcommittees every day.

00:33:15.291 --> 00:33:16.993
They know where
their money's coming from.

00:33:16.993 --> 00:33:19.996
Most members of Congress believe
in their heart of hearts,

00:33:19.996 --> 00:33:23.399
"I can say no to people
who write me a check."

00:33:23.399 --> 00:33:25.402
But it becomes
increasingly difficult

00:33:25.402 --> 00:33:27.703
when you realize
that you have to raise

00:33:27.703 --> 00:33:29.338
enormous sums of money.

00:33:29.338 --> 00:33:31.674
You spend so much time
on the phone,

00:33:31.674 --> 00:33:33.910
so much time
in the presence of people

00:33:33.910 --> 00:33:35.345
who are contributing to you,

00:33:35.345 --> 00:33:38.682
that it has to influence
your judgment to some extent.

00:33:38.682 --> 00:33:40.350
It's bribing.

00:33:40.350 --> 00:33:41.351
(Cowan) Bribing?

00:33:41.351 --> 00:33:42.519
Mm-hmm.

00:33:42.519 --> 00:33:44.520
"Here's
a bunch of money.

00:33:44.520 --> 00:33:47.690
Now be--
now do this as I say."

00:33:47.690 --> 00:33:49.959
I think that
would be bribing.

00:33:49.959 --> 00:33:53.629
(Cowan) Whether the role of money
is direct or subtle,

00:33:53.629 --> 00:33:55.398
even the most innocent among s

00:33:55.398 --> 00:33:57.366
can't help
but feel a little jaded.

00:33:57.366 --> 00:33:58.735
They give you money,

00:33:58.735 --> 00:34:01.571
and then you tell them
that you're gonna let them

00:34:01.571 --> 00:34:03.440
do things
to help their company,

00:34:03.440 --> 00:34:05.875
which I think is
happening right now.

00:34:05.875 --> 00:34:09.512
If a corporation gave me money
for my campaign,

00:34:09.512 --> 00:34:12.883
I would definitely try
to give back to that--

00:34:12.883 --> 00:34:14.884
to that corporation.

00:34:14.884 --> 00:34:17.454
Where did they get
all that money?

00:34:17.454 --> 00:34:19.622
Are they rich
before they start?

00:34:19.622 --> 00:34:22.959
I'd feel weird if someone
gave me a bunch of money

00:34:22.959 --> 00:34:25.394
and I didn't
give it back later on.

00:34:25.394 --> 00:34:27.497
That's a big question
for me.

00:34:27.497 --> 00:34:29.966
Where do they get
all that money?

00:34:29.966 --> 00:34:31.867
The oil companies
might pay them,

00:34:31.867 --> 00:34:35.305
and they might make
a lot of money off of oil

00:34:35.305 --> 00:34:37.674
to keep the oil companies
in business.

00:34:37.674 --> 00:34:40.010
I feel like that's
not the best solution,

00:34:40.010 --> 00:34:42.011
'cause after he gets
all that money,

00:34:42.011 --> 00:34:43.680
if he does become
president,

00:34:43.680 --> 00:34:46.415
he owes the oil company
something.

00:34:46.415 --> 00:34:48.451
[cheers and applause]

00:34:48.451 --> 00:34:54.624
[organ playing "Take Me Out
to the Ball Game"]

00:34:54.624 --> 00:34:56.626
[crowd cheering]

00:34:56.626 --> 00:35:00.830
(Cowan) Is it just too tough
to change the way things are?

00:35:00.830 --> 00:35:03.466
Are elected representatives
having to play ball

00:35:03.466 --> 00:35:05.535
with big money sponsors?

00:35:05.535 --> 00:35:07.803
It's become as routine
and acceptable

00:35:07.803 --> 00:35:09.672
as Arizona's
annual softball game

00:35:09.672 --> 00:35:12.308
between lobbyists
and legislators.

00:35:12.308 --> 00:35:14.944
(man)
If you slid
into home plate

00:35:14.944 --> 00:35:17.514
and you're waiting
for the call

00:35:17.514 --> 00:35:20.683
and you hand the umpire
$1,000,

00:35:20.683 --> 00:35:22.952
that would be considered
a bribe.

00:35:22.952 --> 00:35:25.255
Your bill's dead.
Your bill's dead.

00:35:25.255 --> 00:35:29.392
But if you sneak up
to a politician at a fund-raiser

00:35:29.392 --> 00:35:31.393
and give him $1,000,

00:35:31.393 --> 00:35:33.396
that's called a contribution.

00:35:33.396 --> 00:35:35.331
There's nothing wrong
with lobbyists.

00:35:35.331 --> 00:35:38.735
The problem is the connection
between lobbyists and money.

00:35:38.735 --> 00:35:41.404
The only way
to break that connection

00:35:41.404 --> 00:35:43.706
is by going
to public financing

00:35:43.706 --> 00:35:46.042
of all congressional
and senate campaigns.

00:35:46.042 --> 00:35:49.479
♪

00:35:49.479 --> 00:35:52.315
(Cowan) We'd heard about
a "don't tread on me" attitude

00:35:52.315 --> 00:35:54.316
in the Grand Canyon State

00:35:54.316 --> 00:35:55.785
and their road testing

00:35:55.785 --> 00:35:58.320
of a new kind
of electoral reform.

00:35:58.320 --> 00:35:59.989
We thought we'd have a look.

00:35:59.989 --> 00:36:03.059
(man) The people that are
being elected to office

00:36:03.059 --> 00:36:05.428
kind of lose sight
of the fact

00:36:05.428 --> 00:36:08.431
that most of the people
in this area

00:36:08.431 --> 00:36:10.433
are moderate-income people.

00:36:10.433 --> 00:36:13.136
And it doesn't seem
to be fair

00:36:13.136 --> 00:36:17.440
that the large corporations
are deciding

00:36:17.440 --> 00:36:20.576
who our representatives
are going to be.

00:36:20.576 --> 00:36:23.480
(man)
If the founding fathers saw
what's taking place right now,

00:36:23.480 --> 00:36:25.081
they'd roll over
in their graves.

00:36:25.081 --> 00:36:26.216
I can't give them money.

00:36:26.216 --> 00:36:28.217
I can give them $10, once.

00:36:28.217 --> 00:36:30.020
Do they care?
No.

00:36:30.020 --> 00:36:32.188
(man) Power corrupts absolutely
in the end.

00:36:32.188 --> 00:36:34.457
The money comes in,
the game starts changing,

00:36:34.457 --> 00:36:35.892
and people
with their BlackBerrys

00:36:35.892 --> 00:36:37.160
talking to somebody--

00:36:37.160 --> 00:36:41.064
"I could maybe hit on this guy.
Should I go after him?"

00:36:41.064 --> 00:36:43.700
(Cowan) After a series
of political scandals

00:36:43.700 --> 00:36:45.701
in the early '90s,

00:36:45.701 --> 00:36:49.072
Arizonans changed the way
they run their elections.

00:36:49.072 --> 00:36:51.941
(man) Public funding
helped me get my start.

00:36:51.941 --> 00:36:55.678
You don't owe any favors.
No one raised money for you.

00:36:55.678 --> 00:36:58.949
So you just vote
how you want to vote.

00:36:58.949 --> 00:37:01.284
Your hands, your ears,
your eyes,

00:37:01.284 --> 00:37:04.354
are not tied up
by special interest groups,

00:37:04.354 --> 00:37:06.623
and you're really
a free agent.

00:37:06.623 --> 00:37:08.791
You're a free agent
to represent

00:37:08.791 --> 00:37:11.494
your true stakeholders
that brought you here.

00:37:11.494 --> 00:37:14.564
Those are the ones
that you answer to.

00:37:14.564 --> 00:37:17.133
I spent a lot of time
with lobbyists.

00:37:17.133 --> 00:37:19.269
I was the Ways and Means
Chairman,

00:37:19.269 --> 00:37:21.971
so that's an important role
that a lot of...

00:37:21.971 --> 00:37:23.339
Money.

00:37:23.339 --> 00:37:26.342
Lobbyists want to mess
with the tax code.

00:37:26.342 --> 00:37:29.345
Going to dinners
on a regular basis.

00:37:29.345 --> 00:37:31.981
That totally disconnects you
from your voters.

00:37:31.981 --> 00:37:34.350
No, it gives me
more time to focus on...

00:37:34.350 --> 00:37:35.618
Fund-raising.

00:37:35.618 --> 00:37:36.886
Yeah.

00:37:36.886 --> 00:37:38.888
[laughter]

00:37:38.888 --> 00:37:40.890
(Cowan) Arizona and Maine
are two states

00:37:40.890 --> 00:37:42.592
where most
of their officeholders

00:37:42.592 --> 00:37:44.261
can say they won office

00:37:44.261 --> 00:37:47.430
without having to cozy up
to big money sponsors,

00:37:47.430 --> 00:37:49.566
something they call
"running clean."

00:37:49.566 --> 00:37:51.201
How are you?

00:37:51.201 --> 00:37:53.269
I'm Kirsten Sinema.

00:37:53.269 --> 00:37:55.538
I'm one of your
state representatives,

00:37:55.538 --> 00:37:56.906
and I'm your neighbor.

00:37:56.906 --> 00:37:59.542
I'm running
as a Clean Elections candidate.

00:37:59.542 --> 00:38:01.845
Candidates
can run for public office

00:38:01.845 --> 00:38:03.713
and not take any money

00:38:03.713 --> 00:38:05.815
from corporations
or special interest groups

00:38:05.815 --> 00:38:08.451
or even spend
any of their own money.

00:38:08.451 --> 00:38:09.786
In order to qualify,

00:38:09.786 --> 00:38:12.789
I have to collect
about 270 of these.

00:38:12.789 --> 00:38:14.691
(May)
I raise $5 from 250 people,

00:38:14.691 --> 00:38:16.659
and then the state
funds my campaign.

00:38:16.659 --> 00:38:18.862
I don't have to raise money
from private industry.

00:38:18.862 --> 00:38:22.365
That way, I don't have lobbyists
breathing down my throat.

00:38:22.365 --> 00:38:24.600
(man)
Clean Elections takes no money

00:38:24.600 --> 00:38:27.536
from the general tax revenues
the state receives.

00:38:27.536 --> 00:38:29.539
The primary funding source
for Clean Elections

00:38:29.539 --> 00:38:31.207
is a surcharge
on fines and penalties.

00:38:31.207 --> 00:38:34.176
If you commit a crime
or get a traffic ticket,

00:38:34.176 --> 00:38:37.147
there's a surcharge that will be
used to fund Clean Elections.

00:38:37.147 --> 00:38:39.549
Do you have a problem
with them videoing?

00:38:39.549 --> 00:38:40.683
No.

00:38:40.683 --> 00:38:42.452
Cool.
You hear that, guys?

00:38:42.452 --> 00:38:43.886
(Cowan) We tagged along

00:38:43.886 --> 00:38:45.955
with a few candidates for
Arizona's House and Senate,

00:38:45.955 --> 00:38:47.290
who, instead of power lunching

00:38:47.290 --> 00:38:49.626
with the executive crowd
in downtown Phoenix,

00:38:49.626 --> 00:38:52.227
tend to spend time
in their own districts

00:38:52.227 --> 00:38:53.762
talking to fellow citizens.

00:38:53.762 --> 00:38:57.099
(Taylor) Here in Arizona,
we ask for a $5 contribution,

00:38:57.099 --> 00:39:01.270
and so my theme has been
for many years "Give me 5."

00:39:01.270 --> 00:39:03.539
My constituents
are used to that.

00:39:03.539 --> 00:39:07.310
It brings out a lot
of conversation with them.

00:39:07.310 --> 00:39:09.312
(woman)
As a teacher, I had seen

00:39:09.312 --> 00:39:11.548
that kids don't have
everything that they need,

00:39:11.548 --> 00:39:13.649
and I wanted
to make a difference.

00:39:13.649 --> 00:39:17.052
I thought, "I could do this.
I live here, too.

00:39:17.052 --> 00:39:19.689
"I have a say.
Why not me?"

00:39:19.689 --> 00:39:21.958
(Taylor) Many of you are here.

00:39:21.958 --> 00:39:23.960
Put your walking shoes on.

00:39:23.960 --> 00:39:27.163
It's not set up
to where you can have

00:39:27.163 --> 00:39:29.765
these glamorous gatherings
and parties in ballrooms.

00:39:29.765 --> 00:39:32.001
That's not
what it's all about.

00:39:32.001 --> 00:39:33.869
It's about
beating the pavement.

00:39:33.869 --> 00:39:36.172
It opens the playing field up.

00:39:36.172 --> 00:39:39.075
This is what I love to do.
I love talking to people.

00:39:39.075 --> 00:39:41.711
I love being real,
sharing my thoughts.

00:39:41.711 --> 00:39:43.513
Sometimes they change
my thoughts.

00:39:43.513 --> 00:39:44.881
Sometimes
they tell me something

00:39:44.881 --> 00:39:46.382
that I didn't think about.

00:39:46.382 --> 00:39:49.953
(Sinema) It is a wonderful way
to campaign

00:39:49.953 --> 00:39:52.287
without having
to spend your time

00:39:52.287 --> 00:39:54.290
asking rich people for money.

00:39:54.290 --> 00:39:56.792
(Cowan) It's a way of
campaigning that's optional,

00:39:56.792 --> 00:39:58.427
and yet it's elected

00:39:58.427 --> 00:40:00.697
more than half
of Arizona's legislature,

00:40:00.697 --> 00:40:03.499
plus their governor,
secretary of state,

00:40:03.499 --> 00:40:05.234
and their attorney general.

00:40:05.234 --> 00:40:09.005
But there are still those
writing and voting on bills

00:40:09.005 --> 00:40:11.307
who raise money
the usual way,

00:40:11.307 --> 00:40:14.677
and plenty of lobbyists
are ready to help them.

00:40:14.677 --> 00:40:18.447
This plaza between the Senate
and the House building

00:40:18.447 --> 00:40:21.150
is the busiest place
in the neighborhood.

00:40:21.150 --> 00:40:23.419
It's filled with lobbyists,
absolutely filled.

00:40:23.419 --> 00:40:25.554
There are deals being made here.

00:40:25.554 --> 00:40:27.723
There are deals
being made there.

00:40:27.723 --> 00:40:31.126
We actually have a much greater
number of lobbyists

00:40:31.126 --> 00:40:33.429
than the 90 legislators here.

00:40:33.429 --> 00:40:35.631
(Ableser) If it wasn't
for Clean Elections,

00:40:35.631 --> 00:40:37.867
I'd probably be worried about,
you know,

00:40:37.867 --> 00:40:39.869
if I voted this way,

00:40:39.869 --> 00:40:43.239
they're not gonna give me
the money I need.

00:40:43.239 --> 00:40:45.508
Your bill's dead,
your bill's dead.

00:40:45.508 --> 00:40:47.009
[bat strikes softball]

00:40:47.009 --> 00:40:49.645
(Cowan) Could it really
be this simple--

00:40:49.645 --> 00:40:52.681
politicians who no longer
need big money sponsors

00:40:52.681 --> 00:40:56.318
to fund their campaigns?

00:40:56.318 --> 00:40:58.655
It seemed too simple.

00:40:58.655 --> 00:41:00.856
So we thought
we'd visit a couple of groups,

00:41:00.856 --> 00:41:02.692
closer to downtown,

00:41:02.692 --> 00:41:05.928
that have tried to repeal
Arizona's Clean Election law.

00:41:05.928 --> 00:41:08.264
(man)
Taxpayer-financed campaigns,

00:41:08.264 --> 00:41:11.333
rather than enhancing
freedom of speech,

00:41:11.333 --> 00:41:15.104
actually work to stifle speech
in the marketplace of ideas.

00:41:15.104 --> 00:41:17.874
(man) Money often serves
as a proxy for support.

00:41:17.874 --> 00:41:19.309
Those with the most money,

00:41:19.309 --> 00:41:21.477
they're the people
with the most public support.

00:41:21.477 --> 00:41:23.713
They've been able
to convince the electorate

00:41:23.713 --> 00:41:26.482
to donate money to them
and to support them.

00:41:26.482 --> 00:41:29.018
I don't think that's
necessarily a negative trait.

00:41:29.018 --> 00:41:34.223
♪ All I need
is a solid gold Cadillac ♪

00:41:34.223 --> 00:41:36.225
(Cowan) We thought it interesting

00:41:36.225 --> 00:41:38.661
that efforts to repeal
the state's Clean Election law

00:41:38.661 --> 00:41:40.663
have not only all failed,

00:41:40.663 --> 00:41:44.166
but they've been funded largey
by donors with ample resource,

00:41:44.166 --> 00:41:46.902
many of whom tend to bankroll
local politicians.

00:41:46.902 --> 00:41:49.905
(Lang) Folks who like the system
the way it used to be,

00:41:49.905 --> 00:41:52.508
with Clean Elections,
you no longer need that money,

00:41:52.508 --> 00:41:54.877
and you're no longer beholden
to those business interests.

00:41:54.877 --> 00:41:56.445
You can vote
your conscience.

00:41:56.445 --> 00:41:59.215
(Taylor) There's a live phone bank
going on.

00:41:59.215 --> 00:42:00.750
Two phones left.

00:42:00.750 --> 00:42:04.020
(Cowan) Why does public funding
and those who run on it

00:42:04.020 --> 00:42:06.955
tend to be so popular in stats
like Arizona and Maine?

00:42:06.955 --> 00:42:10.093
(woman) She's been trying
to get all the corporations

00:42:10.093 --> 00:42:12.095
to clean up their acts.

00:42:12.095 --> 00:42:14.463
In order to do that,
you can't take their money.

00:42:14.463 --> 00:42:17.066
Citizens in this community
actually trust her,

00:42:17.066 --> 00:42:19.335
so they're willing
to support her.

00:42:19.335 --> 00:42:21.303
When you're
a new legislator

00:42:21.303 --> 00:42:23.739
and you're establishing,
your voting record,

00:42:23.739 --> 00:42:25.708
I think you really
weigh carefully,

00:42:25.708 --> 00:42:27.776
"How is this gonna impact
my funding?"

00:42:27.776 --> 00:42:29.445
if you're running
traditional.

00:42:29.445 --> 00:42:30.813
If you're
publicly financed,

00:42:30.813 --> 00:42:33.115
I don't think you'd give it
a second thought.

00:42:33.115 --> 00:42:35.117
(woman) I never get the sense

00:42:35.117 --> 00:42:39.088
that she has all sorts
of lobbyists around her

00:42:39.088 --> 00:42:41.090
telling her what to do.

00:42:41.090 --> 00:42:43.358
Some politicians
will say one thing,

00:42:43.358 --> 00:42:45.494
and then
throughout their term,

00:42:45.494 --> 00:42:48.130
they've completely gone
in a different direction,

00:42:48.130 --> 00:42:50.132
and she's really
stayed true.

00:42:50.132 --> 00:42:52.434
(Sinema) It's hard to stay that way.

00:42:52.434 --> 00:42:54.304
I wake up every morning

00:42:54.304 --> 00:42:56.172
and do
the political whore check.

00:42:56.172 --> 00:42:59.842
Am I a political whore?
Am I doing what I believe in?

00:42:59.842 --> 00:43:02.311
Or am I doing something
for other reasons?

00:43:02.311 --> 00:43:04.313
This is
small-time stuff here,

00:43:04.313 --> 00:43:07.250
not anything compared
to what's happening in Congress.

00:43:07.250 --> 00:43:09.619
The system,
I think, encourages you...

00:43:13.455 --> 00:43:16.458
I don't pay too much attention
to politicians.

00:43:16.458 --> 00:43:19.462
I'm not in denial.
I know they exist.

00:43:19.462 --> 00:43:21.764
You don't ever get
to know them.

00:43:21.764 --> 00:43:24.100
I'd want to be able
to trust them.

00:43:24.100 --> 00:43:25.601
The rich people know them.

00:43:25.601 --> 00:43:27.036
I want a guy that's honest,

00:43:27.036 --> 00:43:29.038
and I don't want
the same excuse,

00:43:29.038 --> 00:43:30.539
"I'm gonna lower taxes."

00:43:30.539 --> 00:43:32.508
I've heard that
way too much.

00:43:32.508 --> 00:43:34.510
I know that it's
a group of people.

00:43:34.510 --> 00:43:38.814
Who try to make things
better.

00:43:38.814 --> 00:43:40.149
I mean,
no one's perfect.

00:43:40.149 --> 00:43:42.051
Sometimes
they don't succeed.

00:43:42.051 --> 00:43:44.052
But that's just
my opinion.

00:43:44.052 --> 00:43:45.554
They don't make
the best decisions,

00:43:45.554 --> 00:43:46.788
but sometimes they do.

00:43:46.788 --> 00:43:48.891
They do a lot up there.

00:43:48.891 --> 00:43:50.392
They...everything a lot.

00:43:50.392 --> 00:43:52.428
They basically
run our nation.

00:43:52.428 --> 00:43:54.297
[car horn honks]

00:43:54.297 --> 00:43:56.299
(man) I've testified a few times,

00:43:56.299 --> 00:43:58.934
maybe not as many
as the others.

00:43:58.934 --> 00:44:01.670
But I walked
into this room today

00:44:01.670 --> 00:44:03.972
thinking that this
was the most--

00:44:03.972 --> 00:44:08.077
the most important testimony
that I could be part of.

00:44:08.077 --> 00:44:11.847
(Cowan) We heard about a bill
being introduced in Washington

00:44:11.847 --> 00:44:14.917
that would change
the way we elect Congress--

00:44:14.917 --> 00:44:17.954
an electoral system
like the one in Arizona,

00:44:17.954 --> 00:44:19.655
where candidates
can run for office

00:44:19.655 --> 00:44:22.324
without having to raise
large campaign contributions

00:44:22.324 --> 00:44:24.327
from lobbyists
and special interests.

00:44:24.327 --> 00:44:25.895
Instead, they'd collect

00:44:25.895 --> 00:44:28.197
a set number
of small contributions

00:44:28.197 --> 00:44:30.132
from within
their home state,

00:44:30.132 --> 00:44:32.768
each limited
to no more than $100.

00:44:32.768 --> 00:44:35.071
Candidates meeting
this threshold then qualify

00:44:35.071 --> 00:44:38.107
for a limited amount
of public campaign funds

00:44:38.107 --> 00:44:41.677
and are prohibited from taking
any large private donations.

00:44:41.677 --> 00:44:43.679
Those needing more--

00:44:43.679 --> 00:44:45.948
to compete with heavily
bankrolled candidates--

00:44:45.948 --> 00:44:48.250
may continue to accept
small contributions

00:44:48.250 --> 00:44:51.621
that would then be matched,
up to a limit,

00:44:51.621 --> 00:44:54.623
at a four-to-one ratio
by a public fund.

00:44:54.623 --> 00:44:57.126
(man) Arizona and Maine
have similar systems,

00:44:57.126 --> 00:45:00.128
which allow candidates
to spend more time

00:45:00.128 --> 00:45:01.897
with their constituents

00:45:01.897 --> 00:45:06.635
and less time in the pursuit
of money through fund-raising.

00:45:06.635 --> 00:45:08.805
Public financing
has created a separation

00:45:08.805 --> 00:45:11.974
between the vast majority
of legislators and lobby groups,

00:45:11.974 --> 00:45:14.877
allowing legislators
to weigh issues on their merits

00:45:14.877 --> 00:45:18.213
and vote freely without
the fear of losing support.

00:45:18.213 --> 00:45:20.849
If you're spending more time
in district,

00:45:20.849 --> 00:45:22.852
raising your money there

00:45:22.852 --> 00:45:25.554
and not here
in Washington, D.C.,

00:45:25.554 --> 00:45:28.724
then aren't we creating
a more representative,

00:45:28.724 --> 00:45:31.060
a more democratic society?

00:45:32.929 --> 00:45:36.665
(Cowan)
At first, it seemed like
the idea was well received,

00:45:36.665 --> 00:45:40.069
that the bill might actually
get off the ground.

00:45:40.069 --> 00:45:45.808
(man) I believe that this is not
a good use of taxpayer money.

00:45:45.808 --> 00:45:47.810
(man) I am unfortunately
constrained

00:45:47.810 --> 00:45:50.480
to register my concern
about the belief

00:45:50.480 --> 00:45:52.047
that taxpayers
would be compelled

00:45:52.047 --> 00:45:53.415
to fund political campaigns.

00:45:53.415 --> 00:45:55.250
If it wasn't
for special interest groups

00:45:55.250 --> 00:45:57.619
coming to see us,
we wouldn't have anything to do.

00:45:57.619 --> 00:46:00.990
Taxpayer funding of campaigns
is fundamentally a bad idea.

00:46:00.990 --> 00:46:03.159
We don't think
that the problems

00:46:03.159 --> 00:46:05.360
that it alleges to address
exist

00:46:05.360 --> 00:46:07.362
or that this bill
will actually do anything...

00:46:07.362 --> 00:46:09.731
(man) As soon as you become
a politician,

00:46:09.731 --> 00:46:11.200
it's all about money.

00:46:11.200 --> 00:46:12.702
You have to get money
to run,

00:46:12.702 --> 00:46:14.870
and we can't give them
any money.

00:46:14.870 --> 00:46:17.106
The constituents,
we don't have any money.

00:46:17.106 --> 00:46:19.108
The incumbents saw to that,

00:46:19.108 --> 00:46:21.710
so they got to get money
from corporations,

00:46:21.710 --> 00:46:23.579
and the corporations
give them money.

00:46:23.579 --> 00:46:25.614
(Cowan) The idea that
an optional public fund

00:46:25.614 --> 00:46:27.416
would address a problem
that doesn't exist

00:46:27.416 --> 00:46:29.084
seemed funny to us,

00:46:29.084 --> 00:46:31.754
but we wondered how members
of Congress feel.

00:46:31.754 --> 00:46:35.124
When I ran for office
as a, you know,

00:46:35.124 --> 00:46:38.060
hardly known challenger...

00:46:38.060 --> 00:46:39.395
People think that you're

00:46:39.395 --> 00:46:40.830
going to parades
and shaking hands.

00:46:40.830 --> 00:46:42.264
You're just raising money.

00:46:42.264 --> 00:46:46.468
I had to raise $1.2 million
or $1.3 million.

00:46:46.468 --> 00:46:47.570
I was told unequivocally

00:46:47.570 --> 00:46:49.605
that I needed $2 million
to $5 million.

00:46:49.605 --> 00:46:51.006
$6 million.

00:46:51.006 --> 00:46:52.008
And I laughed at them.

00:46:52.008 --> 00:46:53.175
It's real money.

00:46:53.175 --> 00:46:56.044
Four years of my life
and every dime I had saved.

00:46:56.044 --> 00:46:58.281
(man) You have to leave
the building.

00:46:58.281 --> 00:47:00.916
Every day
I go make those calls.

00:47:00.916 --> 00:47:02.918
Well, in the last election,

00:47:02.918 --> 00:47:05.787
it cost about $8 million
to win.

00:47:05.787 --> 00:47:08.057
It cost $4 million
to lose.

00:47:08.057 --> 00:47:11.827
I spend almost as much time
trying to figure out

00:47:11.827 --> 00:47:15.464
how I'm going
to raise $3.5 million

00:47:15.464 --> 00:47:18.834
as I do at 3:00 in the morning

00:47:18.834 --> 00:47:21.103
reading the 1,998-page
healthcare bill

00:47:21.103 --> 00:47:23.105
that I'm gonna vote on.

00:47:23.105 --> 00:47:25.474
(Edwards) It requires
a lot of phone calls,

00:47:25.474 --> 00:47:27.476
meetings,
fund-raising events.

00:47:27.476 --> 00:47:28.777
Setting the hearings

00:47:28.777 --> 00:47:30.979
so they wouldn't conflict
with raising money.

00:47:30.979 --> 00:47:33.248
You're calling
the political action committees,

00:47:33.248 --> 00:47:35.751
asking if they would help
with a fund-raiser

00:47:35.751 --> 00:47:37.553
today or tomorrow.

00:47:37.553 --> 00:47:39.221
You say,
"We're gonna have to vote

00:47:39.221 --> 00:47:40.756
"Wednesday night at 8:00."

00:47:40.756 --> 00:47:42.391
There'd be a little line--

00:47:42.391 --> 00:47:45.393
like kids going to the toilet
in the fourth grade--

00:47:45.393 --> 00:47:46.862
come up to your desk,
say,

00:47:46.862 --> 00:47:48.597
"Al, I can't do that.

00:47:48.597 --> 00:47:51.233
"I got to be in Detroit
for a fund-raiser."

00:47:51.233 --> 00:47:53.869
(Jones)
You might as well face it.

00:47:53.869 --> 00:47:57.673
Money is power, and that's
how this system works.

00:47:57.673 --> 00:48:00.243
In a way,
it's dysfunctional.

00:48:01.744 --> 00:48:03.679
[people gasp]

00:48:08.383 --> 00:48:11.019
(Cowan) Just about everyone
seems to know

00:48:11.019 --> 00:48:13.422
that campaign fund-raising
in the U.S.

00:48:13.422 --> 00:48:15.291
has gotten out of hand.

00:48:15.291 --> 00:48:17.259
But we wondered what
an optional public fund

00:48:17.259 --> 00:48:19.261
would really cost

00:48:19.261 --> 00:48:21.130
And who'd pay for it?

00:48:21.130 --> 00:48:25.267
So we went to the citizens
who helped write the bill.

00:48:25.267 --> 00:48:27.904
(man) We can publicly fund
all elections

00:48:27.904 --> 00:48:30.505
for the United States Congress
and the presidency

00:48:30.505 --> 00:48:33.309
for a little less
than $2 billion a year.

00:48:33.309 --> 00:48:36.545
Compare that to the hundreds
of billions of dollars

00:48:36.545 --> 00:48:38.814
we spend
in pork barrel projects,

00:48:38.814 --> 00:48:40.215
where there's
a direct connection

00:48:40.215 --> 00:48:41.717
to the campaign contributions.

00:48:41.717 --> 00:48:43.318
It's a bargain.

00:48:43.318 --> 00:48:46.688
(Cowan) In fact, the public fund,
as in Arizona,

00:48:46.688 --> 00:48:49.825
needn't be financed
by individual taxpayers at al.

00:48:49.825 --> 00:48:52.828
Possible sources include
fees paid by large companies

00:48:52.828 --> 00:48:55.264
doing business
with the federal government

00:48:55.264 --> 00:48:58.033
or the licensing
of our public airwaves.

00:48:58.033 --> 00:49:01.036
(man) It means your
$10 or $20 contribution

00:49:01.036 --> 00:49:02.671
isn't insignificant.

00:49:02.671 --> 00:49:04.773
Ordinary citizens' voices
are magnified.

00:49:04.773 --> 00:49:07.042
They become
the most important voices

00:49:07.042 --> 00:49:09.044
within the political system.

00:49:09.044 --> 00:49:12.814
(Edgar) Public financing actually
will save the average taxpayer

00:49:12.814 --> 00:49:14.516
a lot of money.

00:49:14.516 --> 00:49:16.886
If you had looked
at how much money

00:49:16.886 --> 00:49:18.954
Wall Street
has put into the hands

00:49:18.954 --> 00:49:20.956
of House and Senate members,

00:49:20.956 --> 00:49:23.192
they were able
to lower the regulations,

00:49:23.192 --> 00:49:25.327
allow speculation
to take place,

00:49:25.327 --> 00:49:27.362
and then you see
the devastation

00:49:27.362 --> 00:49:29.431
when we had
the economic tsunami.

00:49:29.431 --> 00:49:31.700
I would ask
the average taxpayer,

00:49:31.700 --> 00:49:33.802
"How much money
did you lose?"

00:49:33.802 --> 00:49:35.938
After all the bailouts
of the banking industry,

00:49:35.938 --> 00:49:38.774
members of Congress are still
taking campaign contributions

00:49:38.774 --> 00:49:41.443
from the executives at the banks
that are being bailed out.

00:49:41.443 --> 00:49:43.445
Look down on this nation.

00:49:43.445 --> 00:49:45.714
Would you ever
design a system

00:49:45.714 --> 00:49:48.350
where those
who have a special interest

00:49:48.350 --> 00:49:49.952
would fund the elections

00:49:49.952 --> 00:49:52.554
of those who are going
to make the decisions?

00:49:52.554 --> 00:49:54.557
It would never
cross your mind.

00:49:54.557 --> 00:49:56.057
(Nyhart) Now the politicians depend

00:49:56.057 --> 00:49:58.394
on a relatively small
group of people

00:49:58.394 --> 00:50:00.429
to give them
very big checks.

00:50:00.429 --> 00:50:02.297
Under this system,
the politicians

00:50:02.297 --> 00:50:04.500
have to depend
on the voters.

00:50:06.468 --> 00:50:09.872
(Cowan) We thought we had
our Washington visit wrapped,

00:50:09.872 --> 00:50:14.276
until a bombshell hit
with lots of fallout.

00:50:14.276 --> 00:50:17.346
(news anchor #1) A big change
in American politics.

00:50:17.346 --> 00:50:20.382
(news anchor #2) Supreme Court
overturned 100 years' worth...

00:50:20.382 --> 00:50:23.685
(news anchor #3) The decision
essentially rewrites...

00:50:23.685 --> 00:50:27.055
(Obama) The Supreme Court
reversed a century of law

00:50:27.055 --> 00:50:29.625
that I believe will open
the floodgates

00:50:29.625 --> 00:50:31.693
for special interests,
including foreign corporations,

00:50:31.693 --> 00:50:34.864
to spend without limit
in our elections.

00:50:34.864 --> 00:50:36.365
If Exxon Corporation

00:50:36.365 --> 00:50:39.035
is gonna run an ad
against Mike Capuano, fine.

00:50:39.035 --> 00:50:41.203
Let the voters know
that it's Exxon Corporation.

00:50:41.203 --> 00:50:43.205
The problem comes
when Exxon Corporation

00:50:43.205 --> 00:50:45.774
writes a check
to the Better Government Group

00:50:45.774 --> 00:50:47.409
that runs an ad saying,

00:50:47.409 --> 00:50:48.843
"We're
the Better Government Group,

00:50:48.843 --> 00:50:50.379
"and Mike Capuano stinks."

00:50:50.379 --> 00:50:52.014
(announcer) Our Country
Deserves Better PAC

00:50:52.014 --> 00:50:54.116
is responsible
for the content of this ad.

00:50:54.116 --> 00:50:56.018
Somehow corporations
are persons,

00:50:56.018 --> 00:50:59.154
and therefore they have
the right of free speech

00:50:59.154 --> 00:51:01.390
and the right
to participate in elections.

00:51:01.390 --> 00:51:02.724
It's called
the First Amendment

00:51:02.724 --> 00:51:04.226
of the United States
Constitution.

00:51:04.226 --> 00:51:06.395
We have a right
to freedom of speech.

00:51:06.395 --> 00:51:08.297
And money is speech.

00:51:08.297 --> 00:51:09.865
The courts have held
that is speech.

00:51:09.865 --> 00:51:11.800
Whatever's working, pal,
ain't working.

00:51:11.800 --> 00:51:12.935
The First Amendment

00:51:12.935 --> 00:51:15.571
to the Constitution
of the United States

00:51:15.571 --> 00:51:19.708
was not crafted so some jerk
could spend money into oblivion

00:51:19.708 --> 00:51:22.611
to stampede and crush out
every other guy

00:51:22.611 --> 00:51:25.481
with a bright idea
or a good platform.

00:51:25.481 --> 00:51:28.450
(Nyhart) The Founders were,
I think, terrified

00:51:28.450 --> 00:51:30.586
of great power
being aggregated

00:51:30.586 --> 00:51:33.155
and then destroying
our democracy.

00:51:33.155 --> 00:51:35.090
(Donnelly) They'd be rolling
in their graves.

00:51:35.090 --> 00:51:36.425
They actually believed

00:51:36.425 --> 00:51:37.993
that democracy
should be priceless

00:51:37.993 --> 00:51:40.496
and not adorned
with a price tag.

00:51:44.633 --> 00:51:45.968
(Cowan) So with all the support

00:51:45.968 --> 00:51:48.137
for having
an optional public fund,

00:51:48.137 --> 00:51:50.072
why hasn't it happened?

00:51:50.072 --> 00:51:53.742
The same people bitching
about raising money,

00:51:53.742 --> 00:51:57.646
you find out some of them
don't make much policy.

00:51:57.646 --> 00:52:00.516
We'd lose the discipline
of candidate vetting

00:52:00.516 --> 00:52:03.919
if everybody gets
a certain amount of money.

00:52:03.919 --> 00:52:08.256
Because they don't understand
who they legislate for.

00:52:08.256 --> 00:52:10.992
Incumbents know
how to work the system.

00:52:10.992 --> 00:52:12.994
It is hard
to change the system

00:52:12.994 --> 00:52:14.663
that got a politician
elected.

00:52:14.663 --> 00:52:17.065
We know
where the contributors are.

00:52:17.065 --> 00:52:18.433
I think they're risk averse.

00:52:18.433 --> 00:52:21.069
They figure,
"I've figured this system out.

00:52:21.069 --> 00:52:23.205
"I've mastered it.
I can win."

00:52:23.205 --> 00:52:25.207
We need the finest leaders

00:52:25.207 --> 00:52:28.710
we can attract to the Congress
and the White House

00:52:28.710 --> 00:52:30.679
if we're gonna
meet our challenges.

00:52:30.679 --> 00:52:33.448
It makes no sense
to limit the field

00:52:33.448 --> 00:52:35.817
from which we can attract
those leaders

00:52:35.817 --> 00:52:37.519
to those who have the money

00:52:37.519 --> 00:52:39.254
or the contacts
to raise the money.

00:52:39.254 --> 00:52:42.291
It makes absolutely no sense.
It's ridiculous.

00:52:42.291 --> 00:52:45.294
(man) If somebody gave me
$100,000 and said,

00:52:45.294 --> 00:52:49.431
"You don't have to think
like I want you to think,"

00:52:49.431 --> 00:52:51.299
I'm not gonna forget that.

00:52:51.299 --> 00:52:54.670
You know that if you don't
lean that direction,

00:52:54.670 --> 00:52:58.040
you may not get
that big chunk next time.

00:52:58.040 --> 00:53:00.075
I didn't have to go to college
to figure that out.

00:53:00.075 --> 00:53:03.879
(Eckstein) We need Congress to
make some sort of change.

00:53:03.879 --> 00:53:06.581
I think that our senators
and congresspeople

00:53:06.581 --> 00:53:09.584
should listen to me
before special interest groups.

00:53:09.584 --> 00:53:12.454
Be aware of who is controlling

00:53:12.454 --> 00:53:15.123
your legislator
or your congressman

00:53:15.123 --> 00:53:20.562
or the people that are making
those policies.

00:53:20.562 --> 00:53:22.831
(Cowan) Just about everywhere
we traveled

00:53:22.831 --> 00:53:25.400
showed us
in one way or another

00:53:25.400 --> 00:53:29.537
the need to restore government
that really is for the people,

00:53:29.537 --> 00:53:31.840
and not just
big campaign donors,

00:53:31.840 --> 00:53:35.243
be they corporations, unions,
or any other special interest.

00:53:35.243 --> 00:53:36.779
And this was looking

00:53:36.779 --> 00:53:39.281
at just two
of our national policies.

00:53:39.281 --> 00:53:41.750
(Rauh) Every policy
that this country pursues

00:53:41.750 --> 00:53:43.752
will be decided by those

00:53:43.752 --> 00:53:46.755
we elect to the Congress
and the presidency.

00:53:46.755 --> 00:53:49.424
If you look at all
the major policy issues,

00:53:49.424 --> 00:53:50.759
whether it's energy...

00:53:50.759 --> 00:53:51.793
The economy.

00:53:51.793 --> 00:53:52.527
The farm bills.

00:53:52.527 --> 00:53:53.395
The health care bill.

00:53:53.395 --> 00:53:54.262
Earmarking.

00:53:54.262 --> 00:53:55.064
The war.

00:53:55.064 --> 00:53:55.931
The deficits.

00:53:55.931 --> 00:53:57.366
Regulation of Wall Street.

00:53:57.366 --> 00:53:58.934
They are
important problems,

00:53:58.934 --> 00:54:01.102
but there is a first problem
we've got to solve.

00:54:01.102 --> 00:54:04.105
(Weeks) Take the big money
out of politics.

00:54:04.105 --> 00:54:05.974
If you're an incumbent,

00:54:05.974 --> 00:54:08.343
if you're helping
to fund their campaigns,

00:54:08.343 --> 00:54:09.811
it just works too well.

00:54:09.811 --> 00:54:11.279
You're never gonna
give it up.

00:54:11.279 --> 00:54:13.582
Democracy is not
a spectator sport.

00:54:13.582 --> 00:54:15.917
There has never been
a successful social movement

00:54:15.917 --> 00:54:17.553
that's come from the top down.

00:54:17.553 --> 00:54:20.789
There have to be people
that look at this system

00:54:20.789 --> 00:54:23.058
and say, "It's not working
as intended."

00:54:23.058 --> 00:54:25.494
For our children,
for our grandchildren.

00:54:25.494 --> 00:54:28.730
It all begins
with a small group of people.

00:54:28.730 --> 00:54:30.466
Here we are.
Let's start.

00:54:30.466 --> 00:54:32.434
(Cowan) What would you say
to President Obama

00:54:32.434 --> 00:54:35.069
if you could say
just one thing?

00:54:35.069 --> 00:54:36.872
Hi.

00:54:36.872 --> 00:54:41.776
♪ It's coming
to America first ♪

00:54:41.776 --> 00:54:45.780
♪ The cradle of the best
and of the worst ♪

00:54:56.325 --> 00:54:58.493
♪ It's here
the family's broken ♪

00:54:58.493 --> 00:55:00.862
♪ and it's here
the lonely say ♪

00:55:00.862 --> 00:55:03.198
♪ that the heart
has got to open ♪

00:55:03.198 --> 00:55:06.034
♪ in a fundamental way ♪

00:55:06.034 --> 00:55:08.704
♪ Democracy's comin'
to the U.S.A. ♪

00:55:08.704 --> 00:55:10.706
Funding to purchase

00:55:10.706 --> 00:55:13.141
and make this educational
production accessible

00:55:13.141 --> 00:55:16.678
was provided by the U.S.
Department of Education:

00:55:21.249 --> 00:55:25.187
(Cowan)
I got to raise money,
and I loathe...

00:55:25.187 --> 00:55:27.923
I do too.
It's horrible, Steve.