Supreme Court Vote 5-4 For More Money in Politics
Green Shadow Cabinet
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'Rule Of Money' Gets Stronger With Court Ruling
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The State of Play: Money in Politics
Green Shadow Cabinet
David Cobb, Commission on Corporations and Democracy, Chair
Once again the Supreme Court has made its loyalties clear, and they do not lie not with the American people. The wealthiest individuals already have the power to finance campaigns and now the Court has made that even easier.
We reject the Supreme Court's ruling in McCutcheon vs. FEC and call on the American people to build a movement to force Congress to overrule the Court through an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to make clear that corporations do not have Constitutional rights and money is not speech and campaign spending at all levels can be regulated.
When the Court turns a political question like how to protect the integrity of elections into a Constitutional law question, it turns ‘We the People’ from active participants to simply spectators in our so-called democracy.
The only solution is to overrule the Court through a Constitutional amendment. Any attempt to solve the issue of money in elections through a regulatory or legislative fix is at the mercy of a Supreme Court and legal system only interested in protecting the interests of the monied few. It is time for Americans to Move to Amend. Washington DC can not be trusted to fix this problem for us - it is in our hands.
~ David Cobb serves as Chair of the Commission on Corporations and Democracy, on the Democracy Branch of the Green Shadow Cabinet.
David Cobb is also a founding member of Move to Amend a rapidly growing national grassroots coalition of over 335,000 individuals and hundreds or organizations working to pass a constitutional amendment to state that Constitutional rights belong to human beings only, not to corporations and other artificial entities, and that campaign spending is not a form of protected speech under the First Amendment and can be regulated. The group formed in in 2009 in preparation for the Supreme Court's Citizens United v. FEC ruling on January 21, 2010.
We reject the Supreme Court's ruling in McCutcheon vs. FEC and call on the American people to build a movement to force Congress to overrule the Court through an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to make clear that corporations do not have Constitutional rights and money is not speech and campaign spending at all levels can be regulated.
When the Court turns a political question like how to protect the integrity of elections into a Constitutional law question, it turns ‘We the People’ from active participants to simply spectators in our so-called democracy.
The only solution is to overrule the Court through a Constitutional amendment. Any attempt to solve the issue of money in elections through a regulatory or legislative fix is at the mercy of a Supreme Court and legal system only interested in protecting the interests of the monied few. It is time for Americans to Move to Amend. Washington DC can not be trusted to fix this problem for us - it is in our hands.
~ David Cobb serves as Chair of the Commission on Corporations and Democracy, on the Democracy Branch of the Green Shadow Cabinet.
David Cobb is also a founding member of Move to Amend a rapidly growing national grassroots coalition of over 335,000 individuals and hundreds or organizations working to pass a constitutional amendment to state that Constitutional rights belong to human beings only, not to corporations and other artificial entities, and that campaign spending is not a form of protected speech under the First Amendment and can be regulated. The group formed in in 2009 in preparation for the Supreme Court's Citizens United v. FEC ruling on January 21, 2010.
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'Rule Of Money' Gets Stronger With Court Ruling
Green Shadow Cabinet
Political Bribery Has Never Been Easier As Total Spending Limits Are Removed
The ‘rule of money’ grew much stronger with the 5-4 ruling by the US Supreme court in McCutcheon v. FEC. The Supreme Court overturned another foundational building block of the meager campaign finance rules that exist.
The Court struck down critical limits on the amount a wealthy individual can give to candidates, parties, and committees. Prior to McCutcheon v. FEC, a wealthy donor was limited to a cap of $123,200. Now, an individual donor can give whatever the can afford, for some that means millions.
For the 2013-2014 election cycle, Federal Election Commission rules stated that a donor can give no more than $123,200 to all political committees, with two sub-limits of $48,600 to candidates and $74,600 to political parties and political action committees. Those limits are no more.
Chief Justice Roberts, who wrote the majority opinion, makes clear in his opinion that the ruling and the case brought before the court in no way challenges the base contribution limits, which currently limit individual contributions to $2,600 per candidate, per election; to $32,400 to political party committees per year; and to $5,000 per PAC, per year. Justice Thomas, who wrote a separate opinion, urged the court to do away with those limits as well. The dissenting opinion was signed by Justice Stephen Breyer and joined by Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
It is evident that it is going to take a constitutional amendment to correct the mistaken campaign finance decisions of the US Supreme Court. We support the agenda of Move to Amend on this issue. On April 1 they reported some good news writing:
2) that corporations are not entitled to the same rights as natural persons; and
3) that Congress and the states can limit election-related spending to ensure that all citizens, regardless of wealth, can express their views to one another and their government on a level playing field.”
We think that is the direction the country needs to go to end the rule of money and transfer power to the people.
Protest broke out at the US Supreme Court on the day of the decision. Rapid response actions were planned in advance by Money Out/Voters In. They wrote before today’s decision:
~ Kevin Zeese serves as Shadow Attorney General on the Justice Branch of the Green Shadow Cabinet.
The ‘rule of money’ grew much stronger with the 5-4 ruling by the US Supreme court in McCutcheon v. FEC. The Supreme Court overturned another foundational building block of the meager campaign finance rules that exist.
The Court struck down critical limits on the amount a wealthy individual can give to candidates, parties, and committees. Prior to McCutcheon v. FEC, a wealthy donor was limited to a cap of $123,200. Now, an individual donor can give whatever the can afford, for some that means millions.
For the 2013-2014 election cycle, Federal Election Commission rules stated that a donor can give no more than $123,200 to all political committees, with two sub-limits of $48,600 to candidates and $74,600 to political parties and political action committees. Those limits are no more.
Chief Justice Roberts, who wrote the majority opinion, makes clear in his opinion that the ruling and the case brought before the court in no way challenges the base contribution limits, which currently limit individual contributions to $2,600 per candidate, per election; to $32,400 to political party committees per year; and to $5,000 per PAC, per year. Justice Thomas, who wrote a separate opinion, urged the court to do away with those limits as well. The dissenting opinion was signed by Justice Stephen Breyer and joined by Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
It is evident that it is going to take a constitutional amendment to correct the mistaken campaign finance decisions of the US Supreme Court. We support the agenda of Move to Amend on this issue. On April 1 they reported some good news writing:
“Wisconsinites voted by huge majorities in thirteen communities in favor of instructing Wisconsin’s Congressional delegation to propose and support — and the Wisconsin state legislature ratify — an amendment to the United States Constitution that clarifies three issues:“1) that money is not speech;
2) that corporations are not entitled to the same rights as natural persons; and
3) that Congress and the states can limit election-related spending to ensure that all citizens, regardless of wealth, can express their views to one another and their government on a level playing field.”
We think that is the direction the country needs to go to end the rule of money and transfer power to the people.
Protest broke out at the US Supreme Court on the day of the decision. Rapid response actions were planned in advance by Money Out/Voters In. They wrote before today’s decision:
“Never before has our political campaign system been as corrupted as now with unlimited corporate spending and dark money. Our democracy is eroding before us. But all over the country people are also fighting back and demanding change. 16 states called for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and related cases and the movement is growing.”The Green Shadow Cabinet support Move to Amend, Money Out/Voters In and others fighting for democratic reforms which are desperately needed to safeguard the American people from continued and further exploitation of our labor, environment, privacy and other freedoms from a corporate elite which has purchased undue control and influence over our government.
~ Kevin Zeese serves as Shadow Attorney General on the Justice Branch of the Green Shadow Cabinet.
The State of Play: Money in Politics
Green Shadow Cabinet
The 99% are ill-served by the current Supreme Court, which now counts a majority of justices that believe money is speech, that corporations are people, and that five judges can decide a presidential election rather than having a recount of the vote in a contested state.
It brings back dismal memories of the Court that sat when FDR was trying to legislate this country out of the Great Depression. Their rejection of New Deal laws to restore the public welfare led Roosevelt to try to pack the Court with more liberal justices, a move that Congress prevented.
Fortunately it became unnecessary when one judge shifted, others retired, and there was a majority on the Court to support the New Deal legislation enacted to reverse the catastrophic consequences of the depression.
Congress can override this Court by passing an amendment to the Constitution that corporations are not people. It can enact legislation to provide that all campaigns be publicly funded and that our public airwaves be available to candidates at no cost during elections.
But first the people must buy back the Congress to get them to do our bidding! With over 315 million people in the United States, if the 99% contributed only $1 each to a campaign focused on:
- restoring corporations to their prior status as creatures of the state upon which corporatcide can be committed for criminal acts
- permanently denying corporate ‘personhood’
- passing a law for public financing of candidates with caps on campaign expenditure
- publicly regulated, evenly distributed, air-time for candidates to explain policies before elections
We would then have the financing to restore our democracy!! There’s lots, lots more of us than them!! I pledge the first dollar! Is there a second?
~ Alice Slater serves as Shadow Secretary of Sustainability on the Ecology Branch of the Green Shadow Cabinet.
It brings back dismal memories of the Court that sat when FDR was trying to legislate this country out of the Great Depression. Their rejection of New Deal laws to restore the public welfare led Roosevelt to try to pack the Court with more liberal justices, a move that Congress prevented.
Fortunately it became unnecessary when one judge shifted, others retired, and there was a majority on the Court to support the New Deal legislation enacted to reverse the catastrophic consequences of the depression.
Congress can override this Court by passing an amendment to the Constitution that corporations are not people. It can enact legislation to provide that all campaigns be publicly funded and that our public airwaves be available to candidates at no cost during elections.
But first the people must buy back the Congress to get them to do our bidding! With over 315 million people in the United States, if the 99% contributed only $1 each to a campaign focused on:
- restoring corporations to their prior status as creatures of the state upon which corporatcide can be committed for criminal acts
- permanently denying corporate ‘personhood’
- passing a law for public financing of candidates with caps on campaign expenditure
- publicly regulated, evenly distributed, air-time for candidates to explain policies before elections
We would then have the financing to restore our democracy!! There’s lots, lots more of us than them!! I pledge the first dollar! Is there a second?
~ Alice Slater serves as Shadow Secretary of Sustainability on the Ecology Branch of the Green Shadow Cabinet.
