In his sharply worded dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote, "The court's ruling threatens to undermine the integrity of elected institutions across the nation."
"The Supreme Court in essence has ruled that corporations can buy elections. If that happens, democracy in America is over. We cannot put the law up for sale, and award government to the highest bidder."
"Because speech is an essential mechanism of democracy -- it is the means to hold officials accountable to the people -- political speech must prevail against laws that would suppress it by design or inadvertence," wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy for the majority.
In his dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens accused the majority of judicial activism and attacked the use of corporate personhood in the case: "The conceit that corporations must be treated identically to natural persons in the political sphere is not only inaccurate but also inadequate to justify the Court's disposition of this case."
t's official - we're a Corporatocracy now.
...though some may call it "fascism."
"Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power" - Benito Mussolini
Do you know how much money Exxon has paid in damages awarded from the Valdez spill? Zero, zip, nada. It is fascinating that a corporation gets all the "rights" that an individual enjoys, yet has none of the responsibilities. If a single person committed a similar crime, they'd be in jail!!
I'm just going to throw this out there......don't the candidates still have to get the votes to win? Obviously, this ruling will have sweeping effects on primary elections, but I'm not seeing the big deal with regards to general elections. Especially when you consider the growing divide between the two sides.
This ruling doesn't just apply to corporations, either. Organized labor now has the same ability to spend freely.
Can we just rename it the 5/4 court yet? We're just a few steps shy of Wal-Mart running for president on this ruling.
What happens when the corporations start shelling out money to a candidate that their employees despise? The employees can only donate up to their personal cap in this case to vote with their wallets, while the corp. hands out millions without restraint.
Congress won't even have to pretend to listen to their constituents anymore. I expect they'll all be sporting cigna and exxon logos on their lapels next to the American flag before long.
I need a drink.
Ja Man. I read mr. Greenwald everyday, he is objective (as much as he can be).
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/01/22/citizens_united/index.html
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