US Chamber's history--and the stuff we found is not pretty

7.13.2011

US Chamber's history--and the stuff we found is not pretty

Dear friends,

What is the US Chamber of Commerce hiding?

Our team recently decided to dig into the US Chamber's history--and the stuff we found is not pretty. You've got to see it to believe it:

Visit www.USChamberOfSecrets.org

With the final installment of the Harry Potter movie series premiering this weekend, we thought we'd seize the moment and poke a bit of pop-culture fun at the US Chamber. After all, the campaign to stop the US Chamber has all the elements of an epic story: dark forces are conspiring to control the world, a battle of good versus evil is brewing, and a set of unlikely heroes is emerging to save the day.

The heroes of this story are all of you: citizens and business owners across the nation who are outraged by the way corporate interests are hijacking our political system. And the tide is starting to turn in our favor.

In the past few months, the campaign to stop the US Chamber has picked up some serious steam: thousands of new businesses are on board, local Chambers of Commerce large and small are starting to sign on, and people are hitting the streets to strip the US Chamber of it's legitimacy.

Perhaps most importantly, people are truly waking up to the fact that the US Chamber is a corporate front group--and not just any front group, but the largest lobbyist in the country by far. What's worse, the US Chamber seems hellbent on undermining our democracy and wrecking our climate.

The majority of the US Chamber's funding comes from just 16 anonymous corporations. They refuse to reveal which corporations, but when you look at the US Chamber's actions it's easy to figure out which big polluters are pulling the strings. The corruption in the US Chamber is impossible to deny: of the $32 million it spent on the 2010 elections, 94% of it went to support climate deniers.

And it's not just climate action that the US Chamber opposes--over the last century they have a vile history of opposing progress in our country on issues ranging from clean air to health care and women's and civil rights. Now, their secrets can be exposed: www.USChamberOfSecrets.org

But we haven't won yet, and the mission we face right now is to spread the truth about the US Chamber, and expose their secrets to the world. So take a couple of minutes to open the US Chamber of Secrets, and please do spread the word to your friends on Facebook and Twitter with just a couple of clicks. Forward this message, share the link (www.USChamberOfSecrets.org) and help us build this movement to reclaim our democracy and remove one of the biggest barriers to climate progress in our country.

Together, we'll overpower the dark force of the US Chamber, and we'll be sure to have some fun while we do it.

Onwards,

Phil Aroneanu

350.org is building a global grassroots movement to solve the climate crisis. Our online campaigns, grassroots organizing, and mass public actions are led from the bottom up by thousands of volunteer organizers in over 188 countries. You can join 350.org on Facebook by becoming a fan of our page at facebook.com/350org and follow us on twitter by visiting twitter.com/350. To join our list (maybe a friend forwarded you this e-mail) visit www.350.org/signup. To support our work, donate securely online at350.org/donate.