Those of you of a certain age cried with her in Terms of Endearment; swooned with her in An Officer and a Gentleman; were horrified by her Black Widow. But have you wondered what Debra Winger — she of the sultry voice and onscreen charisma — is up to now?
Wonder no more. For more than a decade, the Hollywood actress has taken her fame to state capitols across the country with a singular goal that has nothing to do with movies: She is trying to save democracy for the American people.
A board member of activist organization American Promise, Winger is working to overturn Citizens United, the 2010 Supreme Court decision that has allowed corporations and political action committees to spend unlimited amounts of money on elections. American Promise is pushing for a Constitutional amendment called For Our Freedom that would effectively cancel Citizens United; so far millions of Americans have signed petitions, and 22 state legislatures have passed bills calling on Congress to act.
Winger, along with American Promise CEO Jeff Clements, will talk about her decade-long advocacy for For Our Freedom at The Philadelphia Citizen’s 7th annual Ideas We Should Steal Festival presented by Comcast NBCUniversal on November 15. In conversation with MSNBC’s Ali Velshi, they will lay out what has happened so far — and how Pennsylvanians, who overwhelmingly support campaign finance reform, can help move it forward.
Watch Winger talk about her passion for this issue below — and then join us to see her live on stage on November 15.
