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Corporate Personhood Should Be Banned, Once and For All
Outrageous SCOTUS Decision Should Reignite Most Necessary of Debates
Jan 21, 2010
Today's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Citizens United v.
Federal Election Commission shreds the fabric of our already weakened
democracy by allowing corporations to more completely dominate our
corrupted electoral process. It is outrageous that corporations already
attempt to influence or bribe our political candidates through their
political action committees (PACs), which solicit employees and
shareholders for donations. With this decision, corporations can now
also draw on their corporate treasuries and pour vast amounts of
corporate money, through independent expenditures, into the electoral
swamp already flooded with corporate campaign PAC contribution dollars.
This corporatist, anti-voter decision is so extreme that it should
galvanize a grassroots effort to enact a Constitutional Amendment to
once and for all end corporate personhood and curtail the corrosive
impact of big money on politics. It is indeed time for a Constitutional
amendment to prevent corporate campaign contributions from
commercializing our elections and drowning out the civic and political
voices and values of citizens and voters. It is way overdue to
overthrow "King Corporation" and restore the sovereignty of "We the
People"!
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader is a consumer advocate and the author of "The Seventeen Solutions: Bold Ideas for Our American Future" (2012). His new book is, "Wrecking America: How Trump's Lies and Lawbreaking Betray All" (2020, co-authored with Mark Green).
Today's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Citizens United v.
Federal Election Commission shreds the fabric of our already weakened
democracy by allowing corporations to more completely dominate our
corrupted electoral process. It is outrageous that corporations already
attempt to influence or bribe our political candidates through their
political action committees (PACs), which solicit employees and
shareholders for donations. With this decision, corporations can now
also draw on their corporate treasuries and pour vast amounts of
corporate money, through independent expenditures, into the electoral
swamp already flooded with corporate campaign PAC contribution dollars.
This corporatist, anti-voter decision is so extreme that it should
galvanize a grassroots effort to enact a Constitutional Amendment to
once and for all end corporate personhood and curtail the corrosive
impact of big money on politics. It is indeed time for a Constitutional
amendment to prevent corporate campaign contributions from
commercializing our elections and drowning out the civic and political
voices and values of citizens and voters. It is way overdue to
overthrow "King Corporation" and restore the sovereignty of "We the
People"!
Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader is a consumer advocate and the author of "The Seventeen Solutions: Bold Ideas for Our American Future" (2012). His new book is, "Wrecking America: How Trump's Lies and Lawbreaking Betray All" (2020, co-authored with Mark Green).
Today's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Citizens United v.
Federal Election Commission shreds the fabric of our already weakened
democracy by allowing corporations to more completely dominate our
corrupted electoral process. It is outrageous that corporations already
attempt to influence or bribe our political candidates through their
political action committees (PACs), which solicit employees and
shareholders for donations. With this decision, corporations can now
also draw on their corporate treasuries and pour vast amounts of
corporate money, through independent expenditures, into the electoral
swamp already flooded with corporate campaign PAC contribution dollars.
This corporatist, anti-voter decision is so extreme that it should
galvanize a grassroots effort to enact a Constitutional Amendment to
once and for all end corporate personhood and curtail the corrosive
impact of big money on politics. It is indeed time for a Constitutional
amendment to prevent corporate campaign contributions from
commercializing our elections and drowning out the civic and political
voices and values of citizens and voters. It is way overdue to
overthrow "King Corporation" and restore the sovereignty of "We the
People"!
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