Casey Gains National Recognition for Being First Independent Candidate To Sign Change Congress Reform Pledge, Challenges Republican and Democrat Opponents to Join Her in Supporting Reforms
Independent Congressional Candidate Ashley Casey was recognized today by the national, grassroots organization Change Congress (www.change-congress.org) for her pledge to (1) Reject all donations from PACs or lobbyists (2) Vote to band earmarks (3) Support total Congressional transparency.
"I signed the Change Congress pledge because I believe this should be a government of the people, not a government of special interests, and I want to send that message to the leaders on Capitol Hill," said Casey. "The people of Louisiana's 6th district have an extraordinary opportunity to send that same message on May 3rd."
Change Congress is a grassroots organization founded by Stanford professor Lawrence Lessig and designed by Joe Trippi that seeks to end the era of corrosive influence of money on government. Launched on March 21, Change Congress has already gained the support of Congressman Jim Cooper of Tennessee and Congressional candidates from both parties.
"The most exciting idea in this political season is changing how Washington works, which means changing the influence of money in Washington," Lessig said. "Change Congress will help build support to solve this first problem in Washington, which is the distorting influence of money. Other problems may be more important. But no problem will be solved until we solve this problem first."
Through technology, Change Congress will work with other reform organizations to show the breadth of existing support for fundamental reform, the new movement hopes to inspire and enlist many more to get involved in the bi-partisan efforts of like-minded organizations to Change Congress.
"The people of 6th District must elect a Representative who works for them, not special interests and checks their personal agenda at the door. We cannot address the fundamental issues of health insurance availability, ending the war in Iraq and strengthening our economy until we fundamentally reform the way Congress does business," said Casey. "I challenge the Republican and Democrat candidates in this race to join me in taking this pledge to show they work for the people, not the special interests."
Casey, a 1994 graduate of Columbia University, mother of two and New Media consultant, has promised to bring an independent perspective to the partisan bickering and special interests that have defined Washington recently. Since the announcement of her candidacy, Casey has promised that, if elected, she will work with leaders of both parties to come up with real solutions for difficult problems like Health Care, Immigration, the Economy, the Environment, Education and National Security. For more information, go to www.ashleycasey.com.
