In his State of the Union speech tonight, President Obama will say (from prepared remarks): Some of this has to do with the corrosive influence of money in politics.

"I’ve talked tonight about the deficit of trust between Main Street and Wall Street. But the divide between this city and the rest of the country is at least as bad – and it seems to get worse every year.

"Some of this has to do with the corrosive influence of money in politics. So together, let’s take some steps to fix that. Send me a bill that bans insider trading by Members of Congress, and I will sign it tomorrow. Let’s limit any elected official from owning stocks in industries they impact. Let’s make sure people who bundle campaign contributions for Congress can’t lobby Congress, and vice versa – an idea that has bipartisan support, at least outside of Washington."

Here's our statement:

This is an important but small step toward severing the ties between elected officials and the special interests hoping to influence them through campaign cash,” said Nick Nyhart, president and CEO of Public Campaign. “It is the big money behind the lobbyists that’s the problem. It’s not the hired guns, but those that hire them. You’ve got to go after the boss. We need big solutions.”

“President Obama should be commended for his speech to address the ‘corrosive influence of money in politics,” said Nick Nyhart, president and CEO of Public Campaign, “But he and Congress must also push a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and pass legislation like the Fair Elections Now Act that would emphasize small donors in our political system.”