Reflections Citizens United v. FEC and the 2010 Elections

[Steve_I_Am]

We Need to Amend the U.S. Constitution to end "Corporate Personhood"
by Steve_I_Am

With the 2010 midterm elections now a month behind us, its time to start a national dialog about the effect of the U.S. Supreme Court’s horrendous Citizens United v. FEC decision on the American electoral process.

Citizen's United, which essentially gave 1st Amendment Rights to “artificial persons” (such as corporations, and labor unions), opened the floodgates, allowing more than $293 million dollars in anonymous, outside money, to pour into this year's elections (compared to $68.9 million in 2006). Most of that money appears to have been spent on the production of a non-stop barrage of noxious, negative, political ads, seemingly designed to "turn off" voters and drive down voter turnout. What was lost in that tsunami of unregulated political influence is the traditional American principle of “one person, one vote.” When an “artificial person” can – by writing a single massive campaign check - donate enough money to influence the outcome of an election, it makes the single vote of an actual human being – like you, and like me – next-to-meaningless.

It is NOT “over-the-top” rhetoric to claim that unlimited, anonymous, campaign contributions pose an existential threat to our small ‘d’/small ‘r’ democratic/republic. It is the plain truth.

Before World War II, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini coined the word “fascism” to describe a political system that merged Corporate power with the power of the State. Citizens United has opened the door to that fascism - that merger of Corporate and State power - here in America. We see evidence of that whenever Congress puts the interests of big business ahead of the wants, and needs, of the American people.

By way of example, during this last election cycle, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (a pro-business organization that, among other things, aggressively lobbies Congress for laws and federal regulations that make it easier for its members, mostly large multi-national corporations, to out-source American jobs) made over $75 million dollars in campaign donations, with most of that money going to Republicans, and business-friendly, conservative, “Blue Dog” Democrats. Is it any surprise, then, that those Republicans, and those “Blue Dog” Democrats, joined forces in the U.S. Senate to vote against, and kill, a bill that would have given tax breaks to American companies that bring out-sourced jobs back to the U.S.?

Now is the time for truly patriotic Americans – We, the People – to stand up, and push back, against the creeping fascism that threatens us. In the short term, we truly needed the Lame Duck Congress to pass the DISCLOSE ACT, putting an end to anonymous political contributions. That way, at the very least, we would have known who, or what, is attempting to “buy” our elections. That doesn't look like it is going to happen, now.

In the long run, however, the only way to restore the balance of power between “We, the People” and our government, will be to pass an Amendment to the Constitution which clearly states that Rights recognized under the Constitution belong to “Natural Persons “ – HUMAN BEINGS – only, and NOT to “Artificial Persons,” such as Corporations and Labor Unions.

I think that this is a truly bipartisan issue. (In the interest of full disclosure I am a registered Democrat, but, first and foremost, I am an AMERICAN, and I would be just as concerned about this issue, and would have written this exact letter, even if the vast majority of the anonymous outside money was going to the Democratic Party, instead of to the Republican party). EVERYBODY hates the non-stop negative political ads, and NOBODY who truly understands what the founding fathers were trying to accomplish with their "American experiment," can be happy about the prospect of the United States of America becoming a "corporatocracy"

What do you think?

[Steve_I_Am]

1. Kickin' Myself!

To get the conversation going . . . In my opinion, this is a fundemental problem. If we don't solve it, before we can solve anything else.