About
about fixcongressfirst.org
No one is ever going to like everything that Congress does, but we should be able to believe that when it makes mistakes, it does so on the basis of stupidity or incompetence, or because there are too many Democrats there or too many Republicans—but not because of the money. But with special interests funneling millions of dollars into our elections—and a new Supreme Court ruling giving corporations and unions even more power to control our government—we can never have that confidence.
This isn't a Democratic issue or a Republican issue—it's a fundamental question about what kind of democracy we want to have. As we've watched presidents in both parties fail to pass their agendas, it's become increasingly clear that elections are no longer where decisions are made in this country. A fortunate few, neither dependent on nor accountable to the people, control the direction of our government. That weakening of our democracy should frighten everyone equally, whether or not you support the people currently in power.
Our goal is to restore public trust in our government by passing a hybrid of small-dollar donations and public financing of elections.
FixCongressFirst.org is a project of Change Congress, a non-partisan advocacy organization whose sole purpose is to protect the independence of Congress by fighting the influence of money in politics.
co-founders
Having spent much of his career exposing the illusion of copyright law’s action, Lawrence Lessig’s current work in institutional corruption probes the decisions of institutions who gamble public trust on failed wars and special interests. Lessig directs the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University, professes at Harvard Law School and champions the necessity of democratic citizenship through his leadership of the Fix Congress First movement. He also serves on the boards of Creative Commons, MAPLight, Brave New Film Foundation, Change Congress, The American Academy, Berlin, Freedom House and iCommons.org, and the advisory board of the Sunlight Foundation.
Prior to rejoining the Harvard faculty, Lessig founded Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society and was Professor of Law at the University of Chicago. He clerked for Judge Richard Posner on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and Justice Antonin Scalia on the United States Supreme Court. Among his achievements are the Free Software Foundation's Freedom Award and being named one of Scientific American's Top 50 Visionaries. Lessig holds a BA in economics and a BS in management from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA in philosophy from Cambridge, and a JD from Yale.
Joe Trippi, whom The New Republic called “the man who reinvented campaigning,” is the founder of Trippi & Associates. He has worked on presidential campaigns for Walter Mondale, Gary Hart, Richard Gephardt, Howard Dean and, most recently, John Edwards. In 2004, as the National Campaign Manager for Howard Dean’s presidential campaign, Trippi pioneered the use of online technology to organizewhat became the largest grassroots movement in presidential politics. Through his innovative use of the Internet for small-donor fundraising,“Dean for America” raised more money than any Democratic presidential campaign to that point—all with donations averaging less than $100.
our board of directors
- Lawrence Lessig, Founder and Chairman of the Board
- Joe Trippi, Founder and Adviser to the Board
- Mark McKinnon, Vice Chairman of Public Strategies Inc.
- Thomas Layton, Treasurer
- Katie McGrath, Board Member
- Josh Silver, Board Member
- Aaron Swartz, Board Member and CTO
- Richard (Dick) Senn, Board Membber
- Dan Nova, Board Member
Staff
Joey Mornin, Online Director, handles all things involving the website and our online organizing initiatives. You can reach him at joey@fixcongressfirst.org.
Szelena Gray, Outreach Director, manages volunteers, donors, events, and grassroots organizing. You can reach her at szelena@fixcongressfirst.org.
