Supreme Court, First Amendment, Campaign funding, corporate, union
Yesterday's Supreme Court decision was a tough call for those who cherish free speech.
By ruling that corporations and unions can spend unlimited amounts of money on election advertising, there is no doubt that the dissemination of information about candidates will now rest in the hands of the mighty and the moneyed, and woe betide any pretender who might cross them.
The only good news is that free speech as a principle was protected, but the concept that a corporation or a union is like an individual with inalienable rights is a tough one to swallow. The indirect consequence of this finding, ironically, is that it will result in the voice of the common man being drowned out.
Right now, the American people are too worried about more pressing matters--like putting food on the table--to bother themselves with seemingly arcane court decisions. They would do well to start paying attention, because this decision will affect the way we govern ourselves more than any other in memory.
The most we can hope for is regulatory legislation requiring, for example, that a corporation clearly identify that it paid for an ad. Otherwise, we may find--after the fact--that some shell group like "Patriotic Americans United For A More Patriotic America" is really a multinational holding company based in Dubai.
And by then, they'd have their own pet U.S. Senator, purring in their laps.
CHAN LOWE has been the Sun Sentinel’s first and only editorial cartoonist for the past twenty-six years. Before that, he worked as cartoonist and writer for the Oklahoma City Times and the Shawnee (OK) News-Star.
Comments
Nah, this is a good thing. They already have their bought and paid for Senators anyway, but these people are incapable of moderation. What this will actually do is bombard people with so much raw sewage that a third party will start to look viable to anyone who just wants it to stop, and the whole dynamic of negative ads gets screwed up when there are more than two choices. People sick of both "major" candidates have an outlet for their disgust.
Posted by: Tom | January 22, 2010 10:31 PM
The after drawing is actually pretty funny.
Posted by: Barry O. | January 23, 2010 8:34 AM
"I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub." These words were spoken,in 2001 by Con,Grover Norquist on NPR.
Grover's words are coming true as we've seen this week with the U.S.Supreme Court ruling regarding corporations having more power over elections.
The middle class is also being drowned, and with it the economy,democracy,and basic rights.CEO's are kings--Us, worker serf's.!Maybe it has to get worse, before it get's better.
Posted by: Lorraine Wagner | January 23, 2010 12:49 PM
It's important to keep in perspective that this is also a big win for AFL-CIO. No doubt unions and lawyers had much to do with putting this administration in power. Look no further than the tax exempt status unions got on the so called, "cadillac plan" on healthcare reform. Also, keep in mind that there was little if any tort reform on the bill (a payback to ambulance chasers everywhere). And, I don't even want to try to guess at how much money people like George Soros (moveon.org) have put in the coffers of the far left.
Posted by: Barry O. | January 23, 2010 2:17 PM
http://www.gallup.com/poll/125333/Public-Agrees-Court-Campaign-Money-Free-Speech.aspx
Posted by: Barry O. | January 24, 2010 10:37 AM
Does this mean they can be put in jail for lying (false advertisements) and stealing (restating earnings)? I don't think so, but it would be nice. Things do not look good for the general public.
Posted by: Steve | January 24, 2010 6:05 PM
Sure, pick and choose who has free speech, like moveon.com 501's and ACORN. Corps , who pay the bulk of high taxes should not have free speech. Give me a break.
Posted by: dave | January 25, 2010 12:14 PM
My blood runs cold, my country has just been sold, to the like of CEO's. Future elections will be decided by corporate finances, and if employee's dont vote the way corporations want then they can be fired. You think this is rediculous? Not as rediculous as giving corporations right that are afforded the people of the US. It does not say anywhere that corporations, have the right to Dominion, and the pusuit of a president, without reguard for Americans. Unless they have rewritten that pesky Constitution again. Well now it is certainly just a piece of paper with ink on it.
Posted by: Bruce McGuire | January 25, 2010 3:36 PM
I just love how Obama was claiming corporations would take over elections, while very carefully forgetting to mention that unions are freed up, too. I'm a member of the NRA and the Knights of Columbus; why couldn't I (and my fellow members, working in concert) be heard 60 days before? Now I can. And now, we'll know who's really paying for the ads, instead of how they've been doing it with phony fronts, as they have been.
Posted by: Zippy | January 25, 2010 5:02 PM