Honoring the legacy of the late campaign finance reform crusader known as Granny D, 81-year-old Rhana Bazzini on Wednesday completed an over 400-mile trek from Sarasota to the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee in a crusade calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.
“There seems to be general agreement that money has corrupted our system,” said Bazzini. “I’m walking to call attention to the propositions that 1) Money is not free speech and 2) Corporations are not people.”
Supporters joined Bazzini throughout the walk and dozens of others marked her arrival with a rally on the Capitol steps, during which law professor and political activist Lawrence Lessig spoke.
The widow and cancer survivor’s walk began on October 13, months after the passing of her spouse of 56 years. “With a lot of time on my hands and being in good health, I decided I wanted to do something to make the world a better place before I ‘bought the farm,'” Bazzini said.
“What I needed was a project. After much thought, Granny D (Doris Haddock) kept popping into my mind,” she added, referring to the notorious grandmother and activist, who at the age of 89 walked across the country for campaign finance reform.
Bazzini is hoping to recruit other women over 80 to take up the call and march to their own state Capitols. “I am not naïve enough to think this is the solution, but I do think it is a step in the right direction,” she writes.
