Chief Justice John Roberts
January 21 marked the fifth anniversary of the Supreme Court's
Citizens United decision allowing unlimited corporate and union campaign spending. It was marked by
rare protests inside the Supreme Court, where the justices were hearing a housing discrimination case.
It was also marked by the reintroduction of a number of bills sponsored by Democrats in the House and Senate deemed the "Defend Democracy" legislative package. It includes seven bills, including a proposed constitutional amendment to overturn the decision, the DISCLOSE Act to require that the corporations providing those unlimited funds at least have to declare themselves publicly, and a number of other measures designed to increase transparency and to encourage small dollar donations.
The White House issued this statement from President Obama.
Our democracy works best when everyone’s voice is heard, and no one's voice is drowned out. But five years ago, a Supreme Court ruling allowed big companies—including foreign corporations—to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence our elections. The Citizens United decision was wrong, and it has caused real harm to our democracy. With each new campaign season, this dark money floods our airwaves with more and more political ads that pull our politics into the gutter. It’s time to reverse this trend. Rather than bolster the power of lobbyists and special interests, Washington should lift up the voices of ordinary Americans and protect their democratic right to determine the direction of the country that we love.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week on
overturning state bans judges and judicial candidate personally soliciting campaign contributions. Because if money is going to corrupt two of the branches of government, the court apparently thinks, it might as well open it up to all three.
Carissa Lovelace provides much more details on Wednesday's protests and congressional action in this diary.
