Delegates from all of the country’s congressional districts have been invited to Philadelphia this week to participate in a rally addressing concerns similar to the Occupy movement.Continental Congress 2.0 was created out of an Occupy workgroup, said former Occupy Louisville member Pam Newman, but is considered separate from the national Occupy movement. Newman is in Philadelphia representing Kentucky's Third Congressional District. The rally is giving elected delegates two minutes each to talk about issues important in their areas. Unlike another Occupy-related rally also planned in Philadelphia during the same time, members of the 99 Declaration, which planned Continental Congress 2.0, have permits for a rally at Independence Hall on July 4. The idea behind the rally is to bring together local activists to create a list of grievances they can take to local and federal lawmakers. Newman said she’ll discuss environmental and LGBTQ issues during her two minutes, which are issues she's found important to those involved with the Occupy Louisville movement.While the two Philadelphia rallies are not in conjunction, they both focus around similar ideals: keeping money from influencing politics.The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last week struck down Montana’s limit on corporate political spending, a blow to the Occupy movement, but Newman said the group will continue working toward its initiative.“What has to happen in order to change things and in order to push the Occupy agenda of getting money out of politics forward is to get legislation that says you can’t donate unlimited amounts of money into a politicians’ pocket," said Newman.Upon her return, Newman said she plans on asking Congressman John Yarmuth to meet and discuss the issues she'll bring up at Continental Congress 2.0.
