On Saturday, July 9th, we took to the streets once again to end the corruption of big money in politics and demand the accountability that we need in our legislature.

100 rebels walked the 5 mile trek from Portsmouth to New Castle where we had sandwiches and our Rally to #EndBigMoney in Fort Constitution. There we enjoyed a reading of the Declaration of Independence. Unfortunately, we were unable to have Betti Tamposi, the former assistant secretary of state under President George H.W. Bush, join us this year so David Borden, state representative from New Castle, filled in her for by reading an op-ed that she co-drafted with Dan Weeks. In it she noted her continued support for this movement by stating, “When citizen-funded elections are paired with other bipartisan reforms like full transparency, independent redistricting, closing the revolving door and stopping super PACs, Congress will finally be able shift the balance of power away from special interests and back to the American people.”

We also enjoyed some remarks from our keynote speaker and NH Rebellion founder Lawrence Lessig. He said, “We can’t wait 20 or 30 years to solve the issues facing America. Climate change is not going to wait, and we cannot wait to solve the issue of inequality in America.” Other speakers included John Rauh, founder of Americans for Campaign Reform, and our Democracy Fellow Jazmine Langley who added a very unique perspective to the program by outlining how the issue of big money in politics stifles her demographic: young people, women, and people of color. 

Live music and plenty of free Ben & Jerry's also greeted the walkers for their dedication to the reform of this issue. Surprisingly, the weather didn’t dampened attendance, we all braved the rain and storms to join in our fight for We the People reform. Check out this video (more photos and video to follow).

The  media took note. In a clear sign that our movement is gaining steam in the mainstream press, dozens of state outlets spanning the political spectrum including SoundNH, NH1, and Seacoast Online covered the event. And thanks to many of you, many letters and op-eds from activists appeared in local papers ahead of July 9th. With your help, we will keep winning the attention of the nation and asking candidates to talk about this fundamental issue and the We The People agenda.

Walks don't plan themselves and I'm very grateful to our lead organizer Olivia Zink, Doreen Desmarais, Jazmine Langley, our Seacoast Organizing Team, and our many volunteers. Thanks also to Corinne “Betsy Ross” Dodge and former State Senator Burt Cohen for their impassioned reading of the Declaration of Independence, and to our gracious in-kind sponsors like Ben & Jerry's and Panera Bread.

If you couldn't make the walk and rally, fear not! We will be having our 3^rd annual Granny D Memorial walk from Dublin to Peterborough. Click here to learn more and RSVP!