Should corporations enjoy the same Constitutional rights as natural persons?
In response to the Supreme Court’s decision that corporations, even those foreign owned and/or controlled by belligerent governments, are entitled to the same Constitutional rights as American citizens, I published the following article this week on several Internet sites.
The cartoon was drawn by Helen Werner Cox specifically to illustrate the article and is used with her permission.
The article has received a very positive response from across the political spectrum, from hard-core conservatives, through Tea Partiers and moderates to disgruntled progressives.
I am very interested in the response of the Daily Kos community, should you care to comment.
*Restore the Power to the People: Amend the Constitution!*
*¿Plata o plomo?* Colombian and Mexican drug gangs ask government officials, judges and police officers which they prefer, "silver or lead," when offering bribes and threatening violence.
The U.S. Supreme Court decision granting corporations the same free speech rights as natural persons allows them to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections and public affairs.
Corporations, foreign and domestic, can now force politicians to choose silver or lead when supporting or opposing corporate and foreign power interests.
Any politician who places the well-being of the public over corporate demands can count on well-financed negative publicity at the next election.
Moreover, corporations will be able to directly influence the election of state judges and the confirmation of federal judges.
With the Congress, White House and Supreme Court now up for sale to the highest bidder, we, the people of the United States of America, must exercise our fading power before it is lost forever.
The 11th and 12th Amendments clearly establish that the Constitution exists to protect the rights and powers of the people, not corporations.
It is our Constitution! We must amend it to ensure it protects us against corporations.
The Power to the People Amendment
Section 1
Only natural persons shall be protected by this Constitution and entitled to the rights and freedoms it guarantees.
Section 2
Nothing contained in this article shall be construed to abridge the freedom of the press for non-person entities engaged in the gathering and reporting of fact, analysis, and opinion. In all other respects, Congress and the States shall regulate and tax non-person entities as necessary for the public good.
Section 3
This article shall become operative once it has been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three-fourths of the States thereof.
William John Cox
Voters Evolt!