Just in time for Thanksgiving!
Justice Samuel "Not True" Alito is back on the Citizens United Is Awesome!™ tour.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is defending the court's 2010 decision in the Citizens United case that helped fuel hundreds of millions of dollars of spending by independent groups in the just-concluded campaign season.
Alito told roughly 1,500 people at a Federalist Society dinner this week that the First Amendment protects political speech, whether from an individual or a corporation.
Because nothing shows more confidence than selling to a crowd guaranteed to buy.
He said opponents of the 5-4 decision have conducted an effective, but misleading, public relations campaign by stressing that the court extended free speech rights to corporations.
That's right, it's
our fault for mischaracterizing this wonderful decision. Nevermind all of the "misleading" that it
caused. Isn't it part of a justice's job to consider the potential
consequences of their rulings?
On second thought, never mind, you did.
He even praised opponents' pithy cleverness, noting such bumper stickers as "Life Does Not Begin at Incorporation."
Well, we agree on something, that is a catchy phrase. See? Citizens United wasn't
all bad.
"The question is whether speech that goes to the very heart of government should be limited to certain preferred corporations; namely, media corporations," he said. "Surely the idea that the First Amendment protects only certain privileged voices should be disturbing to anybody who believes in free speech."
Wow, I agree again! With the "disturbing" part at least.
Maybe he can explain how Citizens United didn't end up exacerbating the very problem he seems to be using as a justification for the decision.
Or is it just standard conservative logic-twisting at work?
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