Last Friday CCAN rallied over 100 people outside the US Capitol Building as members of Congress were about to vote on the ACES bill. (A bill that sadly falls short of securing our future). CCAN joined hands with the Energy Action Coalition, the Avaaz Action Factory, and Campus Progress to boldly say: “WE NEED MORE: Pass a STRONG Clean Energy Bill.” After the rally we marched around the three House office buildings carrying signs and model wind turbines. Check out the video and the picture in the Wall Street Journal article. After our outside antics in the sweltering heat we went inside (to cool off) and really ‘do democracy’. We were an active presence in the halls and engaging members as they headed to the House Floor to vote. It is moments like these that I feel the old rally cry “this is what democracy looks like” is truly actualized.

We must be seen! We must be heard!

It is critical that we are visible and at the very least present on Capitol Hill. At the outset of the House Energy and Commerce hearings, where the ACES bill began, my eyes were first opened. You always hear about political corruption and the shortcomings or our representative democracy… but then to actually SEE IT with your own eyes is a radicalizing experience. There outside of the Energy and Commerce committee room you can actually SEE the dirty energy industry lobbyists circling outside the door to the hearing room like sharks. So we did the same thing and did ‘people’s lobbying’ in the halls.

The other major barrier to democratic access is the paid line-standers. No joke, there are people paid about $12 an hour by the industry lobbyists to stand in line up to 24 hours before the hearing even starts. Then 10 minutes before the hearing the corporate suits walk in and take their place in line. Many of us got there at 6AM and still were denied access to the hearing room because the lobbyists took all the seats. This system is a sad metaphor for the current state of American politics. You have to pay to play. You can’t even enter the democratic sphere or room (where your future is being decided!) unless you have enough money. And oh yeah, the more cash you have the more access you are granted.

I was pleased to see CCAN members and young people in Power Shift shirts and green hard hats say NO to this corruption. On multiple occasions we turned out in droves and flooded the “public” hearings with green shirts and green hard hats and demanded a better future and a better democracy. This is people power in its purest form, and I personally believe it is one of the most strategic uses of our power. We have the right to talk to our elected officials without a filter. We have the right to be physically present when our future is being decided.

The Fight Goes On! Next Tuesday morning the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee begins hearings on the Senate version of the ACES bill. (Senator Cardin of Maryland is on this critical committee). Will he and the other committee members listen to the voice of the people and the scientific community to make the bill stronger? Let’s not wait to find out. Let’s make it happen!

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