Well, well. Ari Berman at The Nation issues a challenge to Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), whose relationship with corporate donors Berman has been tracking: sign on in support when Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) introduces his Clean Elections bill.

On Thursday, February 22nd, I had the privilege of meeting six volunteers from Public Campaign who were in Annapolis, Maryland to ask their legislators to support public financing of legislative elections. They were joined by staff and volunteers from several organizations including Progressive Maryland and Common Cause. It was an exciting day and we accomplished a lot.

Sharon F. Valentine writes in North Carolina's Fayetteville Observer that the days of “take an aspirin and call me in the morning” reform are over, and the cure to the corruption in our political system lies in more deep, systemic change: like Clean Elections. North Carolina, shaken by Former House Speaker Jim Black's guilty plea on corruption charges, has led the way with public financing of judicial campaigns, and will soon consider Clean Elections for Council of State Races.

Here's another great example of a letter to the editor in support of Clean Elections -- this one appears in the Business Gazette in support of the public financing bills being considered by the Maryland legislature. Writing to your local paper is a great way to get the word out about Clean Elections and we have a tool that makes it easier than ever! Take a few minutes to write one yourself!

You may be familiar with the work of Jim Hightower, a writer, commentator and co-editor of The Hightower Lowdown. Hightower is a longtime proponent of Clean Elections, and in this article featured on AlterNet he paints a vivid contrast between the pay-to-play political culture of Washington, DC and the voter-driven politics of empowerment working in cities and states with Clean Elections.

Calling Clean Elections a "bargain," the Washington Post writes in support of full public financing for Maryland elections, a proposal with support from Maryland's Governor and House of Representatives and which is being debated by the Senate.

As supporters head to Maryland's State Capitol today to lobby their legislators to pass Clean Elections in Maryland, Sean Dobson, the acting director of Progressive Maryland, writes in The Gazette about the opportunities Clean Elections will provide Maryland, and the importance of the state Senate joining the House and Governor Martin O'Malley in support of Clean Elections.

Nashville resident and Clean Elections supporter Richard Romfh writes this great letter to editor in The Tennessean in support of full public financing for elections. Letters to the editor are great tools to get the word out about Clean Elections, and we have a handy new tool to help you compose your own here. If you write a letter, and it gets published, be sure and let me know so I can feature it in this space.

Campaign finance reform is not an issue that tends to get people dancing in the aisles. But I challenge you to spend some time with the members of Democracy Matters and not feel excited about fighting for Clean Elections. Democracy Matters, started six years ago by Golden State Warriors center Adonal Foyle, is made up of students in colleges and universities nationwide working to bring students into the debate over money in politics and into the work of winning Clean Elections public financing systems.

The campaign for winning Clean Elections in Maryland depends on a grassroots organizing effort. It cannot win without the citizens of Maryland taking a stand and getting involved in the effort. It’s about citizens choosing to take responsibility for making a necessary change here in Maryland! So what really goes on in a grassroots campaign?