Guest piece by Tiffiniy Cheng, co-founder of "A New Way Forward" If you're sick of lobbyists and their bought off legislators, come to the next showdown in Washington DC. Next Monday (May17th) at 11:45 AM [3], it's time we go right after some of the most powerful people in the world -- the bank lobbyists who work on K Street. The campaign for fixing Wall Street has grown tremendously in the past year. It's now or never to show that we, the public, want our big banking problems fixed, not dodged. Meet at 15th and K Street. FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE THE SHOWDOWN IN AMERICA [3] SITE.

Have you heard about the fake grassroots campaign called StopTooBigtoFail.com [4]? Or Chase's Way Forward campaign [5]? or the "shadow lobby" called the US Chamber of Commerce [6] and their grassroots campaign? Do you know who is funding this assault on the financial reform bill? Us, the taxpayers, who doled out $160 billion dollars and trillions in discount loans [7] in a bailout to the biggest banks. And since then, the 6 biggest banks have spent $500 million dollars on lobbying Congress. So, who should we go after this Monday?

This K Street action next Monday expects a crowd of thousands of ordinary Americans and is organized by National People's Action [3], Jobs with Justice [8], SEIU [9], and AFL-CIO [10]. They have a clear focus -- they are going after the perpetrators of bubble economics. Who are the perpetrators? It's the hired lobbyists of big banking and the legislators that heed their calls. The rally will focus on the connections between the big banks' war chests and their political clout over Congress. So, come help target the offices of lobbying groups, and then help make rounds at the offices of Senators who are some of the biggest recipients of big bank campaign cash and have done the big banks' bidding. At the heart of the issue is Congress' addiction to big bank campaign contributions and lobbying power. Many of these banks have built a legacy in Congress, currying favor with almost every single legislator, some much more than others. Are the Senators going to break free from their best and strongest donors to institute change in the interests of their constituents? The only way we can make sure that Congress fix our financial system and tone down the transfer of wealth to the top brass of the financial sector is to join the fight to push back Wall Street. It's been a year and a half since the crash, and we are just now getting to the real meat of the issue of how to properly deal with the companies that took down the economy. The Senate's current financial bill is still an open game right now and will be for the next couple of weeks. This action and every action aimed at real financial reform will have the effect of helping to make or break the lobbyists who are writing loopholes and knocking down reform in the bill as we speak. That's why it's so important that you come out. Lobbyists are spending $1.4 million dollars a day -- that's real money and influence -- and a report recently [11] released by Campaign for America's Future, Public Accountability Initiative, and SEIU details the 243 government officials who have turned into big banks' lobbyists, and the 70 members of Congress and 940 former federal empoylees that have been hired by the big banks as lobbyists in the past year and a half. The next two weeks are absolutely crucial. It is clear there is a political constituency for financial reform. Studies by Pew [12], and ABC News [13] show that the public blames the big banks for the crisis (duh!) and want them fixed. This rally next Monday allows the public to decide if the big banks' campaign contributions over the years will turn out to be a very smart investment with huge returns at a time when it is Congress' duty to overhaul the financial system. Stephen Lerner, lead organizer for financial reform at SEIU [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-dreier/showdown-on-wall-street-a_b_549607.html said], "We want to use this moment and the rage that the American people have at banks as a way to get into the bigger issues of how Wall Street banks and corporate power have sabotaged the economy and enriched themselves." Last month's action on Wall Street in New York drew 10,000 people, and the public's willingness to show up and do something more to put the economy back is growing. On the backs of a unanimous vote for one-time audit of the Federal Reserve on Monday, there is certainly room to do much more. The financial reform fight is more than just about the big banks. As George Goehl of NPA said, it's about having "one [long-termed] eye on corporate accountability". This country needs a hard-fought battle with the powers that be now more than ever.