Encouraging news for individual liberty-minded WCF readers who stand opposed to the ghastly politically-corrupting effects of the vast and potentially unlimited sums of grubby corporate special-interest dough, which infects, and will continue to infect, our American political process, in the wake of the boneheaded 201o SCOTUS decision, i.e, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Here's the lede from the wethepeoplecampaign.org blog which appears to be the first of the members of the online media community to "break" the story:
There's major news today in the world of We The People - Senators Tom Udall and Michael Bennet introduced a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's Citizens United v. FEC ruling.Read the whole story here:
Senator Udall made this statement today as he introduced the amendment:
"As we head into another election year, we are about to see unprecedented amounts of money spent on efforts to influence the outcome of our elections. With the Supreme Court striking down the sensible regulations Congress has passed, the only way to address the root cause of this problem is to give Congress clear authority to regulate the campaign finance system."
This proposed bill would " actually re-enfranchise real people. You know... "Actual People" who are legitimately entitled protected UNDER THE CONSTITUTION to participate in the American political process as the Constitution was originally designed. Let'em know furthermore that these self-serving (and constitutionally-unentitled [Corporations still can't vote]) corporate special interest groups' "megabucks" should should NOT influence our American political process in any way, and that, furthermore, should be banned permanently from offering even a dime of dough within the framework of American politics:
Normally at this time, after a good rant like the one above, we'd be posting a single consolidated email link to permit you all Weber County citizens to send an email to all of your (elected) federal legislators in one single email. Unfortunately, our Utah-elected federal legislators don't want you to know their individual email addresses (this info is probably reserved for lobbyists, we suppose), so we guess that you'll all have to go to their individual web pages, to log your cut/pasted email input:
- Email 1st District US Representative Rob Bishop
- Email Utah Senator Orrin Hatch
- Email Utah Senator Mike Lee
12 comments:
I don't know. This will take some thinking about. In general, it's a poor idea to try to correct unpopular Supreme Court decisions by means of Constitutional amendment.
As I said, this will take some thinking about. Careful thinking about. For example, what unanticipated consequences might result from stripping corporations of "person" status under the law? Would it open corporations to having assets seized "without due process of law"? Will we lose something important if corporations as legal entities are not accorded the same protections individuals are accorded under the Bill of Rights?
I don't have answers to those questions, but we'd be prudent to do some careful thinking about what the answers are or might be before jumping on board this amendment idea.
And of course those of us on the political left ought to ask the same question of the sponsors of this amendment that we've asked of right-leaning sponsors of various proposed amendments.... e.g. "they know this has almost no chance of passing, and are sponsoring it now merely as an election ploy." Is this a serious proposal or an election year ploy?
All questions needing some time to think about before jumping on board, I'd say.
"I don't know. This will take some thinking about.'
LOl, BOB! So now you're trying to decide whether inanimate Corporations should enjoy equal (or maybe even greater civil rights) than human beings?
Shall we chalk you up as a "lost cause" now, or later?
Too funny!
"I don't know. This will take some thinking about.'
LOl, BOB! So
now you're trying to decide whether inanimate Corporations should
enjoy equal (or maybe even greater civil rights) than human beings?
Shall we chalk you up as a "lost cause" now, or later?
Too funny!
"I don't know. This will take some thinking about.'
LOl, BOB! So now you're trying to decide whether inanimate Corporations should enjoy equal (or maybe even greater civil rights) than human beings?
Shall we chalk you up as a "lost cause" for "Democracy in America," now, or later?
Too funny!
This is messed up for several reasons.
First, it doesn't take a constitutional amendment to overturn a Supreme Court ruling. All it takes is majority vote of congress and president's signature, and the congress knows that. In the last few years they have reversed the courts in just that way. Since congress has done this, we must assume they know they can!
It's a common folklore that the Supreme Court is equivalent in power to congress, but it is a myth. Anytime you see a Constitutional amendment for something like this, it's just a political ploy, and you can bet those pushing it are frauds. Typically these narrow amendments are a campaign ploy to energize a special interest group. The proponents know there is no way it could be ratified, and they probably don't really want it to be.
Having said that, I believe in open elections and feel they are too regulated already. I don't like corporate money going into elections, but I don't like a lot of things - it doesn't mean they should be illegal.
The solution for this and a lot of things is to BAN corporations altogether. They are inherently corrupt and do far too much damage. Businesses should be privately held concerns, as they were for years before corporations became common and assumed so much power.
Funny how corporations were doing just fine for the how-many-hundred years before CU vs. FEC. It isn't as if we are asking for uncharted territory.
Thanks for the links, Rudi. I especially liked how Bob Bennett made me go to the USPS site to get my zip+4 before posting. Guess that weeds out the riff-raff.
Dear Professor, I think you shouold focus your energy on a greater matter. The owner of the Los Angeles dodgers has announced he is selling the team. this would be a great opportunity for old die hard Brooklyn Dodger fans to purchase the team and move it back to Brooklyn New York. Work on the omportant matters.
The team, as all true Dodger fans know, never left Brooklyn. It is lost in the BMT from which it will someday emerge and return to their people, for of Ebbitts Field truly it is written, "if we rebuild it, they will come." Who cares who owns the Los Angeles National League Baseball Organization, falsely called "the Dodgers" only by the depraved, the deluded and the badly brought up?
You wrote: "First, it doesn't take a constitutional amendment to overturn a Supreme Court ruling. All it takes is majority vote of congress and president's signature, and the congress knows that. "
This is true when the SC is construing a statute. It is not true when the SC is construing the Constitution.
Off topic: I note with real sadness that Ogden's premier downtown used bookshop, The Bookshelf on Washington is going out of business. Rats. Story here:
http://www.bookshelfutah.net/
I heard about this last month; been a Bookshelf customer for over 20 years ... they will be missed!
TLJ
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