It is the creature of their will, and lives only by their will." - Chief Justice John Marshall, 1821
The influence of unlimited and almost unaccountable spending by unknown entities in American elections is an abhorrent condition that was approved by The Supreme Court of the United States. This landmark case, Citizens United v. The Federal Elections Commission immediately provided for unlimited campaign related spending in regards to advertising, event sponsoring and influence peddling all across our nation. in the last several months of the GOP's primary season, tens of millions of dollars, if not more, have been spent on negative advertising by "SuperPACs" supporting the various Republican candidates and President Obama has reversed his standing on this electioneering to accept aid from these entities as well.
"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation." - The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776
Quite clearly, these expenditures are aimed at putting forth undue influence upon our broken electorate system. The use of widespread media avenues to promote or denounce a particular candidate or initiative at the behest of interests that may not necessarily hold the best interests of Americans above private gains is despicable. This manipulation of public awareness and opinion is the antithesis of the founding principals of The United States of America. We The People are charged as citizens to stand up against this, we are due a fair and equal status in our political system to ensure that the government is "...Of The People, By The People and For The People"
The 10th Amendment of the Bill of Rights clearly states:
"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."
The status of persons is not to be shared with made-up entities, such as corporations and SuperPACs. 8 USC § 1401 - Nationals and citizens of United States at birth clearly defines who is a US Citizen. The term used is "person(s), which is most commonly defined as; a natural being. The 14th amendment of the US Constitution does allow for the status of "person" to be applied to corporations, but only as related to how that entity relates to other entities in contracts for goods or services and that entity's rights to "equal protection under the law of the land.", not necessarily all the rights established by the 1st Amendment. The decision to expand this definition to include how a non-human entity is allowed to participate in the the functioning of the electorate system is an aberration of the basic ideals of the US Constitution.
The ruling by the US Supreme Court makes a mockery of the founding principals of our great nation. Every justice of that court should hang their head low in utter shame for essentially abandoning We The People in favor of their ultra-wealthy friends and benefactors. Their decision to allow this political foolery is treasonous to the ideals of America and should be punished with removal from the bench and abrogation of the ruling through a constitution amendment defining "We The People" as actual persons, not paper entities.
 |
| President Theodore Roosevelt on the campaign trail. When it was revealed that railroad and oil companies provided 75 percent of Roosevelt's campaign funds during the 1904 presidential election, the voter backlash prompted Congress to pass the first major campaign-finance reform law, the Tillman Act of 1907. The law banned corporate donations to federal candidates. |
As a redress to the "Citizens United" decision, I propose that We The People put forth a constitutional amendment akin to the Tillman Act of 1907. This action by Congress was proposed by President Theodore Roosevelt following the criticism he received after his election in 1904. In his address to Congress in 1905, President Roosevelt said this...
"All contributions by corporations to any political committee or for any political purpose should be forbidden by law; directors should not be permitted to use stockholders' money for such purposes; and, moreover, a prohibition of this kind would be, as far as it went, an effective method of stopping the evils aimed at in corrupt practices acts. Not only should both the National and the several State Legislatures forbid any officer of a corporation from using the money of the corporation in or about any election, but they should also forbid such use of money in connection with any legislation save by the employment of counsel in public manner for distinctly legal services."
