“If there was one decision I would overrule, it would be Citizens United. I think the notion that we have all the democracy that money can buy strays so far from what our democracy is supposed to be. So that’s No. 1 on my list…. The Court’s interference with that decision of the political branches seemed to me out of order. The Court should have respected the legislative judgment. Legislators know much more about elections than the Court does. And the same was true of Citizens United. I think members of the legislature, people who have to run for office, know the connection between money and influence on what laws get passed
Sometime in the distant future, once Pax Americana has faded from memory, historians will perform their inevitable post mortem on our democracy. I have little doubt that Citizens United v. FEC will be recognized as the tipping point, the moment when things shifted and our descent into a combination of plutocracy and autocracy began picking up speed. This iteration of the Supreme Court has ushered in an era that equates money with free speech and corporations with flesh and blood human beings. More than anything, they’ve contributed to creating an environment that will result in the death of the American Experiment. Slowly, inexorably, American governance is being ceded to those with the money and desire to purchase politicians and institutions. The Roberts court will in my mind go down as the worst, most egregious examples of corruption and corporatism this country has known…and they’ll be responsible for greasing the skids for those who’d purchase democracy and remake government for their benefit. Why would the Koch brothers spend millions purchasing government if they weren’t expecting a return on their investment?
“Corporations are people, my friend!” Well, no, they’re not. Do they bleed when you cut them? Do they do the things that flesh and blood human beings do? Of course not, but they’ve been given a status equal to any biped, allowing them the virtually unchecked ability to purchase the government they want. Because REAL people can’t hope to compete with the deep pockets of corporate “people,” our democracy has increasingly been corrupted by the vast sums of money now pumped into campaigns and advertising. Where before our government was merely friendly to corporate interests, that government is now owned lock, stock, and barrel by corporations/”people”.
The Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United has opened the flood gates, making the American political process a commodity openly available to the highest bidder. Money and corruption have always been inimical to our political system, but no longer is their even the pretense that American governance is above board.
Citizens United,
the controversial 2010 Supreme Court ruling that held that the First Amendment prohibited the federal government from imposing limits on independent political expenditures by nonprofit organizations. When the court sided with the plaintiffs, Ginsburg joined a lengthy dissent authored by Justice John Paul Stevens that argued the case “threatens to undermine the integrity of elected institutions across the Nation.”
A few months later, the court ruled that political action committees that did not make direct campaign contributions were covered by Citizens United, forming the much-maligned super PACs. In a subsequent decision in 2014, the court struck down aggregate campaign contribution limits that had restricted two-year maximum donations to federal candidates, as well as all limits on donations to political party committees.
The three cases collectively enshrined an expansive view of the power of money as free speech, an interpretation of the First Amendment that puts the nation’s entire campaign finance framework in jeopardy and has become conservative dogma in recent years.
Combine Citizens United with an electorate favorably disposed to being propagandized and lied to, and what you have is a political process that no longer revolves around “one man, one vote.” Until Congress overturns this travesty- and with Republicans having purchased both chambers of Congress, that’s not likely to happen any time soon- the Kochs and their ilk will have free reign. They’ll be able to use their billions to purchase the government they want. As ever greater numbers of Americans grow frustrated with our corrupt political system and stay home on Election Day, the rich, powerful, and venal will increasingly assume a role as the power behind the throne. If you purchase politicians, you’re doing so because you expect them to act in your best interests. You can pull their strings and demand what you will, because if you don’t get it, you can simply purchase different politicians.
I really hate to come off as a pessimist, but I know enough of history to understand how this process works. America is not immune to the forces of greed and corruption, and history is rife with examples of empires that crumbled because the foundation rotted out from under them. The same things are happening in America today. Left unchecked, the forces of greed and corruption will see America’s decline continue until we hit bottom as a larger version of England, believing we still matter but impotent and largely voiceless on the world stage.
Welcome to our future.
