United re:public is a brand new movement with the following motto: “Democracy is Not for Sale.”   United re:public is comprised of an impressive team, including Josh Silver (former CEO of Free Press) and Nick Penniman (former Executive Director of Huffpo). The group is partnered with Jimmy Williams’ group, Get Money Out (which he started with MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan) and Lawrence Lessig’s Rootstrikers effort.  In short, this is a group with immense potential.  Here is an excerpt from the “About” page of United re:public’s new (but temporary) web site:

United Republic is a new organization fighting the corrupting influence of well-financed special interests over American politics and government. We welcome the energy and creativity of citizens of all stripes – progressive, conservative and independent – who envision a nation where the needs and ideas of the many aren’t drowned out by the influence of the wealthy few.

We believe our political system is dangerously out of balance. Thousands of lobbyists, billions of dollars in campaign contributions, shadowy political attack groups, and career politicians are distorting the government’s priorities at a time of great national need. We Americans no longer have the government or leadership we need to get the country back on the track of collective prosperity and responsibility. The Wall Street bailouts are the biggest example of this problem.

Making matters worse, recent Supreme Court decisions have not only stood in the way of common-sense reforms of the system but have actually knocked down many of the remaining safeguards against large-scale corruption and cooptation of the political process. What results? The kind of overconcentration of power that our nation’s founding fathers repeatedly warned against.