Why Citizens United is a Sound Decision

[midcan5]

Citizens United allows foreign interests to give slush money to influence American elections. That's the bottom line... and Mudhut, you are for it. Very American of you.

do people read their own minds and have no idea that others may think differently? http://www.justplainpolitics.com/sho...26#post1032226


"Personally, I question whether any of these approaches will work. The CU ruling established control over all three branches of government. The president and members of congress now know that they cannot be reelected without the financial support of corporations and special interest groups."
http://open.salon.com/blog/steven_ro...one_year_later


"Corporate America has always sought to have government be considered a subordinate function within their realm. Just as they have a marketing division, a manufacturing division, and a finance division, they have always wished for a “government division” that could legally direct the public to suit their corporate needs. Soon they will have their wish."

[midcan5]

Comments are now censured for minor insult? Who is Owl? I wish everyone would maintain their original identity, been here a long time and would like to know who's who? Anyway Harper's April has an excellent piece on the more complex issue of CU and some of the history of money and politics. Check it out if you can find a copy.

'It’s A Rich Man’s World - How billionaire backers pick America’s candidates'

"Here we begin to see the real consequence of all this getting and spending. It’s not that campaign money has direct power over the public mind—that one advertising dollar can be counted upon to yield one vote. Nor is it true that the public is invulnerable, that we judiciously weigh these messages and see through the lies. The problem is that by putting such a price tag on the White House, we have imported market logic directly into our politics. Yes, even the village socialist will still get to vote, not to mention the village idiot. But in order to be a candidate—to be the kind of person who can make those calls to billionaires and get them to “double down”— Americans will have to undergo a far more rigorous process of ideological winnowing and executive training. And anyone who isn’t an absolute zealot about maximizing shareholder value will fail to make the cut." Thomas Frank (Harper's 04/2012)

[SmarterthanYou]

The CU ruling established control over all three branches of government.

i'm sorry. I missed the part of the CU ruling that denied the peoples vote and gave voting rights to some other entity. can you paste that part of the decision?

[midcan5]

i'm sorry. I missed the part of the CU ruling that denied the peoples vote and gave voting rights to some other entity. can you paste that part of the decision?

The quote above your post answers that. Check it out. Magazine is probably available from library.

[Threedee]

It's impossible for any multinational corporation to divorce itself from foreign interests. When the American subsidiary of Sony makes a donation to an American candidate, are they doing so in the interests of Japan or America? How could they, when they have such strong interests in Japan, and take orders directly from Japanese executives? Even when you are talking about a multinational headquartered in America, well, as Jefferson said, "Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains." When they make donations, the only consideration they have is what policies maximize their total profits. The policy that maximizes their profits may not necessarily be the best one for America, as they make money elsewhere too. The interests of American workers certainly won't be taken into account. Really, only companies entirely based in America without any foreign business could be said to be truly independent of foreign interests.

A Jefferson quote on economics isn't really worth all that much. He wasn't a Federalist.

[midcan5]

Another example of the pernicious effect of CU. Adelson wants to buy a new department of law, one that looks the other way.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontl...elsons-empire/

[midcan5]

Barbara Stanwyck: "We're both rotten!" Fred MacMurray: "Yeah - only you're a little more rotten." -"Double Indemnity"

"Those lines of dialogue from a classic film noir sum up the state of the two political parties in contemporary America. Both parties are rotten - how could they not be, given the complete infestation of the political system by corporate money on a scale that now requires a presidential candidate to raise upwards of a billion dollars to be competitive in the general election? Both parties are captives to corporate loot. The main reason the Democrats' health care bill will be a budget buster once it fully phases in is the Democrats' rank capitulation to corporate interests - no single-payer system, in order to mollify the insurers; and no negotiation of drug prices, a craven surrender to Big Pharma." http://truth-out.org/index.php?optio...-left-the-cult


"There was a time, not so very long ago, when perfectly rational people ran the Republican Party. So how did the party of Lincoln become the party of lunatics? That is what this book aims to answer. Fear not, the Dems come in for their share of tough talk — they are zombies, a party of the living dead." Mike Lofgren 'The Party Is Over: How Republicans Went Crazy, Democrats Became Useless, and the Middle Class Got Shafted' (see down too) http://www.amazon.com/Party-Over-Rep...=books&ie=UTF8


"Gerstle argues that the civil rights movement and Vietnam broke the liberal nation apart, and his analysis of this upheaval leads him to assess Reagan's and Clinton's attempts to resurrect nationalism. Can the United States ever live up to its civic creed? For anyone who views racism as an aberration from the liberal premises of the republic, this book is must reading." http://www.amazon.com/American-Cruci...ons/0691102775