Crosby, Stills & Nash Partner With Ben & Jerry's Co-Founder Ben Cohen On "Stamp Stampede," A National Campaign To Amend The Constitution And "Stamp Money Out Of Politics"

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN), longtime advocates for campaign finance reform, have announced their support for and partnership with StampStampede, a grass roots advocacy campaign designed to "Stamp  Money Out of Politics."  Created by Ben & Jerry's co-founder Ben Cohen, StampStampede is part of a growing national movement to pass an amendment to the U.S. Constitution affirming that corporations are not people, and money is not free speech—that, in fact, huge donations by corporations, Super Pacs, and the super wealthy drown out the voice of ordinary Americans.  An amendment would pave the way for legislation limiting these contributions, and polling data has shown that roughly 80% of Americans—Republicans and Democrats alike—favor taking such action.

To help patriotic everyday Americans get this message across to politicians and lobbyists, StampStampede has made rubber stamps (sold at cost on their website) bearing campaign finance reform slogans that can be legally stamped onto paper currency—potentially reaching billions of impressions (based on Federal Reserve estimates on the lifespan of bills).  David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash's alliance with StampStampede amplifies the campaign's reach by connecting its mission with CSN's massive, widespread, and multi-generational fan base. 

"People have been fighting to get soft money out of politics for decades," says David Crosby.  "The McCain-Feingold and Shays-Meehan bills are good examples—but the reform hasn't gone nearly far enough, and the stakes keep getting higher.  We have to fight harder, and building public awareness is critical to make the necessary progress."

StampStampede's stampable statements—available on traditional, self-inking, and pocket stamps—read: "Not to be used for bribing politicians" and "Stamp the money out of politics," each with the tagline "Amend the constitution."   "This is a petition on steroids," says Ben Cohen. "The average dollar that is stamped gets seen by over 800 people.  If one person stamped five bills a day for a year, that would result in a million-and-a-half impressions.  If 1,000 people did that, it would be a billion-and-a-half over the next 2-½ years.  It's economic jiu jitsu—using money to get money out of politics."

Further attention will be called to the Stampede with the Amend-O-Matic, a large (10' high by 14' long by 6' wide) Rube Goldberg-style money-stamping machine mounted on a flatbed cutaway van that will be parked outside the entrance of at eight of the dates on CSN's upcoming U.S. Tour in May.  On an ongoing basis, it will also appear at festivals, events, campuses, and other strategic locations across the country.  The Amend-O-Matic  was produced by Cohen and a team of artists, engineers, motorcycle gang members, Ben and Jerryites, and other StampStampede supporters and benefactors.  Other Stampede partners include Move To Amend, People for the American Way and Public Citizen. 

CSN's upcoming U.S. dates run from May 5 through May 25, with an itinerary in Europe following (details are available at www.crosbystillsnash.com). The group's 2013 tour dates build on the momentum and excitement of their 80-date, year-long 2012 world tour, which concluded with five sold-out nights at NYC's Beacon Theatre in late October.  Reviewing last summer's Red Rocks show, MSN Music's Mark Brown wrote, "CSN absolutely killed it. Every song.  No lulls.  No filler…It's hard to believe that any band in 2012 would be putting on better shows than it did in 1969, but CSN did just that."  CSN 2012, a 25-song set presenting CSN's first live performance film in more than 20 years, was recorded early on the tour, and released last summer in Blu-Ray and DVD/2CD versions. It ended 2012 as one of Billboard's Top 20 selling DVDs of the year.

SOURCE Crosby, Stills & Nash