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One Year Later, Movement Is Growing to Overturn 'Citizens United'
The theory and practice of the U.S. Supreme Court's dreadful decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission are incompatible with a well-functioning democracy.
Jan 21, 2011
The theory and practice of the U.S. Supreme Court's dreadful decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission are incompatible with a well-functioning democracy.
One year and one election after the decision, we know that Citizens United
remade the electoral landscape. Not only did it enable corporations to
write large checks to affect who would and would not be elected, but it
also established that Wild West rules would prevail for campaign 2010.
The 2010 campaign and the 2010 election results were influenced quite
considerably by Citizens United.
Citizens United has cast a shadow over all policymaking,
because elected officials now know that if they cross powerful corporate
interests, they face the prospect of an unaccountable, outside campaign
to defeat them in the next election.
A growing people's movement - a movement of real, live, breathing
humans, not corporations - is now rising to demand this legal
abomination be undone. We are, together, building a movement for a
constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.
Today, Public Citizen and allies presented three-quarters of a
million signatures to Congress, asking for passage of an amendment.
Across the country, there were 100 demonstrations, rallies,
theatrical performances, house parties and more - all calling for a
constitutional amendment. And a new campaign, Business for Democracy,
coordinated by the American Sustainable Business Council and involving
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, founders of Ben & Jerry's, is today
being launched to support the citizen movement for a constitutional
amendment.
We, the People insist that the First Amendment to the United States
Constitution protects the free speech rights of people, not
corporations. We, the People insist that democracy is "rule by the
people," not corporations.
In 50 years, Americans will look back on Citizens United with the same abhorrence with which we now view of the court's most ignoble decisions.
The question is not if, but when Citizens United will be
overturned. We can't wait for a majority on the Supreme Court to come to
their senses. The fast-growing constitutional amendment movement is
committed to asserting the people's will to restore the First Amendment
and rescue our democracy.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. 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. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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Robert Weissman
Robert Weissman is the president of Public Citizen. Weissman was formerly director of Essential Action, editor of Multinational Monitor, a magazine that tracks corporate actions worldwide, and a public interest attorney at the Center for Study of Responsive Law. He was a leader in organizing the 2000 IMF and World Bank protests in D.C. and helped make HIV drugs available to the developing world.
The theory and practice of the U.S. Supreme Court's dreadful decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission are incompatible with a well-functioning democracy.
One year and one election after the decision, we know that Citizens United
remade the electoral landscape. Not only did it enable corporations to
write large checks to affect who would and would not be elected, but it
also established that Wild West rules would prevail for campaign 2010.
The 2010 campaign and the 2010 election results were influenced quite
considerably by Citizens United.
Citizens United has cast a shadow over all policymaking,
because elected officials now know that if they cross powerful corporate
interests, they face the prospect of an unaccountable, outside campaign
to defeat them in the next election.
A growing people's movement - a movement of real, live, breathing
humans, not corporations - is now rising to demand this legal
abomination be undone. We are, together, building a movement for a
constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.
Today, Public Citizen and allies presented three-quarters of a
million signatures to Congress, asking for passage of an amendment.
Across the country, there were 100 demonstrations, rallies,
theatrical performances, house parties and more - all calling for a
constitutional amendment. And a new campaign, Business for Democracy,
coordinated by the American Sustainable Business Council and involving
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, founders of Ben & Jerry's, is today
being launched to support the citizen movement for a constitutional
amendment.
We, the People insist that the First Amendment to the United States
Constitution protects the free speech rights of people, not
corporations. We, the People insist that democracy is "rule by the
people," not corporations.
In 50 years, Americans will look back on Citizens United with the same abhorrence with which we now view of the court's most ignoble decisions.
The question is not if, but when Citizens United will be
overturned. We can't wait for a majority on the Supreme Court to come to
their senses. The fast-growing constitutional amendment movement is
committed to asserting the people's will to restore the First Amendment
and rescue our democracy.
Robert Weissman
Robert Weissman is the president of Public Citizen. Weissman was formerly director of Essential Action, editor of Multinational Monitor, a magazine that tracks corporate actions worldwide, and a public interest attorney at the Center for Study of Responsive Law. He was a leader in organizing the 2000 IMF and World Bank protests in D.C. and helped make HIV drugs available to the developing world.
The theory and practice of the U.S. Supreme Court's dreadful decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission are incompatible with a well-functioning democracy.
One year and one election after the decision, we know that Citizens United
remade the electoral landscape. Not only did it enable corporations to
write large checks to affect who would and would not be elected, but it
also established that Wild West rules would prevail for campaign 2010.
The 2010 campaign and the 2010 election results were influenced quite
considerably by Citizens United.
Citizens United has cast a shadow over all policymaking,
because elected officials now know that if they cross powerful corporate
interests, they face the prospect of an unaccountable, outside campaign
to defeat them in the next election.
A growing people's movement - a movement of real, live, breathing
humans, not corporations - is now rising to demand this legal
abomination be undone. We are, together, building a movement for a
constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.
Today, Public Citizen and allies presented three-quarters of a
million signatures to Congress, asking for passage of an amendment.
Across the country, there were 100 demonstrations, rallies,
theatrical performances, house parties and more - all calling for a
constitutional amendment. And a new campaign, Business for Democracy,
coordinated by the American Sustainable Business Council and involving
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, founders of Ben & Jerry's, is today
being launched to support the citizen movement for a constitutional
amendment.
We, the People insist that the First Amendment to the United States
Constitution protects the free speech rights of people, not
corporations. We, the People insist that democracy is "rule by the
people," not corporations.
In 50 years, Americans will look back on Citizens United with the same abhorrence with which we now view of the court's most ignoble decisions.
The question is not if, but when Citizens United will be
overturned. We can't wait for a majority on the Supreme Court to come to
their senses. The fast-growing constitutional amendment movement is
committed to asserting the people's will to restore the First Amendment
and rescue our democracy.
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