by Jane Roser
One of the most inspiring movies I remember watching as a kid was Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Jimmy Stewart portrays a quiet, naive small town patriot who is suddenly thrust into Washington politics where his dreams and ideals are shattered when he discovers that, instead of a legacy left by his heroes Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, a Boss Tweed-like reality is prevalent. One where money and corruption runs rapid and democracy is an illusion. During the intense Senate filibuster scenes, Jefferson Smith passionately declares that, “There’s no place out there for graft, or greed, or lies, or compromise with human liberties. Great principles don’t get lost once they come to light, they’re right there, you just have to see them again.”
Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream co-founder Ben Cohen has been long troubled by the reality that this country is essentially set up to benefit corporations and to screw the little guy. It took awhile before Cohen realized that the reason there are so many roadblocks when Congress tries to pass energy policies or healthcare laws or education bills is because of all the money in politics. “Our politicians are financed [for the most part] through huge donations from corporations and the ultra wealthy who want this country to work for their benefit,” explains Cohen, “and against the interest of anyone else. What we need to do is change the way our elections are financed and not to continue to buy politicians in a system that John McCain calls legalized bribery.”
After witnessing the powerful long-reaching voice of the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011, Cohen realized that with the advent of social media, it was possible to galvanize a broad base of support. “I knew there was a large percentage of the population who were concerned about this issue and needed an easy way to make their voices heard, so I came up with this idea of rubber stamping paper currency (which is completely legal since money is not being defaced with the purpose of taking it out of circulation). It’s basically monetary jiu-jitsu; using money to get money out of politics.”
One could say that this idea is real world viral marketing and with over 56,000 stamps sold so far (and another 4,000 expected to be sold by the end of 2016), the movement has definitely taken off like a stampede of voices on George Washington’s face. “When you stamp a dollar bill and put it into circulation it gets seen by 875 people,” Cohen explains, “so if one person stamps three bills a day for one year, it gets seen by a million people and that’s a powerful thing.”
Cohen says that the best solution is to overturn three Supreme Court rulings which say that money is the same as free speech (oh, hello Donald Trump), that corporations are the same as people (cough, cough Koch brothers) and the last ruling basically combines those two together. “That’s what’s changed about our democracy,” says Cohen, “we’ve gone from one person, one vote to one dollar, one vote. The purpose of capitalism is to make money, but the purpose of a government is to regulate capitalism at a level playing field.”
The Stampede website (http://www.stampstampede.org) is incredibly thorough and interesting. There are links where you can sign up to volunteer at events and drive a Stamp Mobile in New Hampshire, links with issue overviews and solutions, a place to post found bills (one person posted a photo of six bills they got back as change from their local grocer- all were stamped) and of course, an online shop where you can buy your very own stamp.
There are five different types of stamps, from traditional wooden stamps to self-inking desk stamps with six different messages from ‘Not To Be Used For Bribing Politicians’ to “Not To Be Used To Corrupt Democracy”. Next year, the Stampede plans to roll out a new feature that includes your own personal identification code so that when someone finds a bill and registers it on the website, the person who originally stamped that bill is notified (sort of like the money tracking project Where’s George?).
Cohen will next be on tour with Americana/roots rock band Donna the Buffalo and renowned bluegrass musician Peter Rowan to raise awareness about the inappropriate use of corporate money in politics and to enjoy some great music while at it. Cohen first met the members of Donna the Buffalo when he brought his Stamp Mobile (a giant money stamping machine on a flatbed truck) to the GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance in Ithaca, New York. The group was excited to jump on board this campaign saying that it didn’t get more grassroots than this.
The show will be interspersed with music and Cohen presenting short snippets of information about the Stampede campaign using audio and visual demonstrations. Audience members can stamp their money, buy a stamp and if you pay for your drink with stamped money, then your drink is free. “Combining music and political activism can get boring,” says Cohen, “I’m looking to get together with a bunch of people who care about dancing and revolutionizing; it’s an exciting way to bring the two together.”
The Stampede Tour will be charging its way to The Ardmore Music Hall on November 11th, so bring lots of dollar bills and remember what Jackson Browne says: “You try hard to believe that when you cast your vote it counts/But elections are won with money in ever larger amounts/Take the money out of politics and maybe we might see/This country turn back into something more like democracy.”
