Friend,
Early
yesterday morning, Scott Brown and I reached an historic agreement
aimed at keeping advertising by Wall Street, Karl Rove, and other big
players out of our campaign for the United States Senate -- on both
sides. That's what the People's Pledge we signed is all about.
Washington
is already rigged for Wall Street and the biggest corporations. The
same groups that can spend millions in ads attacking me are also the
ones spending millions on lobbyists to make sure their interests are
protected.
But
the people of Massachusetts deserve to be able to make up their minds
in this election based on what each of the candidates have to say,
without Wall Street or Karl Rove calling all the shots.
It
won't be easy to keep Karl Rove and his powerful friends out of this
race. His organization is already attacking the People's Pledge. But
he's off his game. No one has tried this before, and his group isn't
sure how to react. This is our chance to push back with a groundswell of
opposition to their involvement.
Wall
Street and the big banks know I'm going to stand up to them, to stand
up for you, and that's why they have said they will spend whatever it
takes to keep me out of the U.S. Senate.
There
is no place where attack ads could play a bigger role in 2012 than in a
hotly contested race like Massachusetts. And I don't kid myself: This
may not work. Powerful outsiders may find loopholes that we can't stitch
up. But there's enough at stake to make it worthwhile to try to take
back this election.
That's
why we need the People's Pledge. Here's how it works: Scott Brown and I
are asking outside groups to stay out, and we're making it clear that
they won't be helping their favored candidate. If an independent third
party group spends money on TV, radio, or online supporting a candidate,
that candidate has agreed to pay 50% of the cost of airing that ad to a
charity of the other candidate's choice.
I'm
hopeful that the People's Pledge will give the people of Massachusetts
the kind of campaign they deserve, to help them choose the Senator that
will best represent them. But I know we'll need to be vigilant to ensure
that our opponents live up to their side of the bargain.
For
the pledge to work, we need everyone working for this agreement, and
that includes the people who will power this campaign in place of the
special interests -- people like you.
Thanks for being a part of this.
Elizabeth Warren
P.S.
I'm hoping to talk about the People's Pledge tonight on The Daily Show
with Jon Stewart, at 11:00 p.m. Eastern on Comedy Central. If you're
going to watch,
RSVP on Facebook now and invite your friends to watch, too!
P.P.S.
Thank you so much to everyone who participated in our big "money bomb"
last week! Thanks to strong grassroots support in Massachusetts and
across the country, we raised $1.2 million in one day -- on the two-year
anniversary of Scott Brown's special election -- proving that we have
the grassroots momentum and enthusiasm to take the People's Seat back
from Wall Street and other powerful interests. I'm so grateful for this
strong show of support!