Corporate Democracy: Potential fallout from a Supreme Court decision on Citizens United

[clear eye]

The impending Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission,
which could be announced as early as Tuesday, Nov. 3, is expected to significantly expand the
role of the most powerful special interests in financing American elections. The Court appears
poised to turn its back on more than 100 years of law and pave the way for corporations and
unions to spend unlimited amounts of money on direct campaigns to elect or defeat federal
candidates.

Such a dramatic decision would further reduce trust in government policymaking and take our
country in the wrong direction. It is hard to imagine how America can achieve real progress and
tackle critical challenges – like health care, climate change and the economy – when our elected
representatives are locked in an all-out fundraising arms race that makes them both more
dependent on and vulnerable to the powerful special interests opposed to change.

Lifting the ban on corporate political spending could unleash a flood of money into the political
system and further diminish the public’s voice.

See more: http://www.commoncause.org/atf/cf/%7Bfb3c17e2-cdd1-4df6-92be-bd4429893665%7D/CORPORATEDEMOCRACY.PDF

(I would change the last sentence of the excerpt above to read "would unleash a flood of money...")

[rhett o rick]

1. R1. Can you spell fascism?

And yes I did use spell check to make sure I could spell it.

[wtbymark]

2. This is our 'Enabling Act'

The people's voice, literally, will not exist after this.

[clear eye]

4. Yes. This is also why I keep asking progressive activists to coalition.

No one group can raise enough of a ruckus on the streets to combat these devastating changes. They're coming at us from all directions, so we need the leaders of the various groups which organize around single subject areas to reach out to each other and work out a list of important reforms that their constituencies can jointly mobilize around. The leaders have to be careful not to get derailed over which reform takes priority. There are quite a handful that are absolutely crucial, and can be considered equally important.

[Kutjara]

3. That will truly be game over for US democracy.

We'll all just be chattels for corporations to buy, sell, or discard at will.

[peacebird]

5. but...but.. but...Roberts TOLD us he was against activist courts..!?!?

eeek!

and so do all the repukes on a regular basis..... golly gosh! I guess this is not court activism then!

:sarcasm:

[ihavenobias]

6. Scary. n/t

[truedelphi]

7. This week's events leave me so stunned

That I cannot absorb more bad news.

I have no words of wisdom to offer. We have a Big Money Party, and nothing will stop it, as far as I can tell. Too bad for the rotten luck of Geithner and Bernanke flooding Wall Street with monies, while leaving Main Street to sink.

Too bad for the Rotten sack of poop health care "reform" that is worse than nothing at all.

Too bad for us that the Supreme Court is merely an extension of the One Money Party.

America, Miracle Land of My Childhood Dreams, you are a distant memory. Your miracles now bless only those with the bucks.

[Peace Patriot]

8. This is appalling! I can't imagine a WORSE direction for our democracy than floods of MORE money

into political campaigns. The opposite should be happening--a total ban, and Constitutional amendment if necessary, on all private money in political campaigns, along with commitment of a percentage of the federal budget (say the multi-billions utterly wasted on the failed, corrupt, murderous "war on drugs") to facilitate candidate access to the voters.

It's time. This is ridiculous. If they do this--and I've no doubt at all that this is one of the main purposes of Bushwack appointments to the Court--it will be "three strikes and you're out" for our democracy. Strike #1: The 2000 Supreme Court crowning of Bush as king. Strike #2: The fast-tracking, all over the country, of voting systems run on 'TRADE SECRET,' PROPRIETARY programming code, owned and controlled by a handful of far rightwing corporations, with virtually no audit/recount controls, and with the worst of them, ES&S (which just bought out Diebold) now having a near monopoly; and Strike #3: This--unlimited corporate money in political campaigns.

Right now, you have to have a million dollars in hand to even THINK about running for Congress. This is so WRONG as to be upside down, inside out, backwards "Alice in Wonderland" time. To make it worse is treason. That's my opinion. It is a war AGAINST our democracy.

[intheflow]

9. I agree, it would unleash a flood of money.

I wish the lawyers could just come out and say mixing corporations and politics is fascism, but they'd be tried by the corporate media and then laughed out of court. :(

[bertman]

10. Rec and kick.

[MrsCorleone]

11. Citizens United v FEC is undoubtedly the case of our lifetimes.

Wish the freeper morans would buy a clue already and join us in the push back.

[clear eye]

16. Unfortunately Freepers & Libertarians in general

believe that corporations have a right to any advantage they can grab. Might makes right in their book.

[MrsCorleone]

18. Most average folks claiming to be Libertarian or conservative don't understand

the real corporate ideology of their respective parties, especially that of the Libertarian party. Party leaders, as we all know, do. The freeper types that I come across are disturbed by the influences of large corps, they just haven't figured out how it works & where to direct their anger.

[Independent_Liberal]

12. Kicked and Recommend!

Thanks for bringing this critical matter to our attention.

[Aragorn]

13. One more can't hurt,

as in 1 more post about this. Just goes to show, the corporations own the courts too. (That's all 3 branches if you're scoring at home.)

[clear eye]

14. There is one thing we can do before this is announced.

The Supreme Court does not take comments from the public. What we can do is email our members of Congress, expressing our belief that the de facto result of this decision is government by the corporations, for the corporations, aka fascism, and ask that they follow Sens. Feingold and McCain and speak on the floor regarding what a major blow to the basis of our style of government such a decision will be, and how extreme a form of judicial activism it is. There's still a slim possibility that the swing voter, Justice Roberts might swing back if encouraged to re-examine the consequences.

The founders a number of times in writing opposed the expansion of corporate influence.

[Wilms]

15. I can't believe this is even on the table.

But then, there's corporate person-hood.

[slipslidingaway]

17. knr nt

[mzmolly]

19. K and R. "Government of by and for the..." corporations?

Not if I can help it.

:kick:

[nightrain]

20. knr. yes. this is potentially very devastating...

[flyarm]

21. k&r FOR THIS VERY IMPORTANT INFO!! THANKS FOR POSTING IT!! EOM

[yurbud]

22. unions won't be able to compete with Wall St in bucks

[slipslidingaway]

23. kick nt

[Bill Bored]

24. kick nt

[Bruxley]

25. 99% of corporations are SMALL BUSINESSES

I'm a small business owner and if your not you should be aware that being in business without the protection provided by forming a separate entity (a corporation) puts your personal property at sever undo risk. They are easy and inexpensive to form on your own and provide a legal barrier between your personal assets and the business liabilities and risk.

I realize the worry is that the uber corporations will get big unequal influence but right now they get it anyway by end-around means that us small guys can't. They can offer friends and family nice jobs, grant access to inside business information, etc. I can't do those things.

The people effectively shut out are us small corporations. WE drive the American economy NOT those uber waste corps. WE employ most Americans NOT those guys, why should WE get cut out of having a voice in the political process then? It's US that deserves a voice because WE contribute the most to this economy a little piece at a time.

I want this corporate gag removed. Small business drives this economy. It's unfair that because the big corps are villianized that small business has to stand by and be quiet.

Sorry if I sounded like I was ranting but people everywhere automatically think of the uber corp when the word corporation is used and don't realize those guys aren't going to gain near ass much as us small guys will in this.

Food for thought.

[salguine]

26. Congress is a wholly owned subsidiary of Corporate America NOW! How much worse could it get?