Corporations

don't want a contested Democratic primary. We do.

By Annie Leonard and Larry Cohen

We write as individuals, not speaking in this case for the organizations we lead.

We are concerned about our nations democracy and the corrupting role of money in
politics. We are concerned about voting rights and the failure of the Congress to restore
the Voting Rights Act. We are concerned about the U.S. approach to global trade,
seemingly focused more on the interests of big corporations than on our jobs, our living
standards, or our environment.

We believe that global warming demands a much greater response. We believe that
workers rights in the U.S. are near the bottom among global democracies, and we
believe that collective bargaining rights are a critical path to economic opportunity.

For all of these reasons, we believe multiple candidates should be encouraged to
compete for the Democratic nomination for president. We need to debate the direction
of our nation, now more than ever. If we end up with a single Democratic candidate
and little or no debate in the primariesthose of us unlikely to support a Republican
nominee will be left voting for a Democrat who may be opposed to the Republican
agenda but is not necessarily a champion for the vision of change that millions of us
seek and that this country needs.

Political spending for both the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees in
2016 is likely to reach $2 billion, by far the most expensive election in our history. We
need a nominee who will challenge the Supreme Courts assertion that corporations are
people and money is speech.

Environmental and workers rights have no chance when our election outcomes are
increasingly determined by political spending rather than by popular agenda.

So we welcome additional candidates entering the race. We agree with Former Labor
Secretary Robert Reich, the Boston Globe, and many others that Sen. Elizabeth Warren
would be a strong candidate, and that if Hillary Clinton also declares, the debate
between the two of them would be critical for our nation.

We cannot accept politics as usual; it is becoming irrelevant and our democracy hangs in
the balance. At this point, our country needs new ideas and new leaders. We need to
widen the debate about todays problems and potential solutions that could better
serve both people and the planet. A contested Democratic primary would do just that.

Larry Cohen and Annie Leonard are long-time labor and environmental activists,
respectively. The views expressed here are their own.