The Toxicity Of The Citizens United Decision

Yesterday, on the 10th anniversary of the Supreme Court's badly decided Citizens United case, Blue America-endorsed candidates Andrew Romanoff, Brianna Wu and Kara Eastman joined Cenk Uygur for an online rally against the the disastrous decision.

Cenk told his supporters that "No other ruling has had such a major impact on campaign finance-- allowing unlimited election spending by corporations and fueling the rise of Super PACs. It also emboldened the Supreme Court to subsequently strike down other regulations that stood in the way of corporations buying our elections. Here we are in January 2020 and it’s impossible to turn on the TV or stream anything without being flooded with political attack ads from secretive, dark money Super PACs you’ve probably never even heard of."

In his own campaign in California's 25th district (Santa Clarita, Antelope Valley and Simi Valley) he's "standing up and fighting back by calling out my opponent Christy Smith and all Democrats and Republicans alike who are being funded with massive contributions from industries, corporations, and other special interests. As you know, I’ve decided to reject money from PACs altogether because I believe campaigns in a democracy should be supported and funded by real people and that each person should have the same amount of influence as the next. The way we do politics right now is not working for the majority of Americans. Just look at the turnout numbers in 2018 or 2016. Look at who is funding Republicans and establishment Democrats. Look at how policies with broad support across the board continue to sit on desks of Representatives and Senators. We’ve got to make a big change and I’m ready to get to work in Congress to make it happen."

On this matter, all the progressive candidates are all on the same page as Cenk. Michigan state Rep and congressional candidate Jon Hoadley wrote to his supporters yesterday as well:

10 years ago today, the Supreme Court decided to put our democracy up for auction. Corporate Super PACs, dark money groups, and special interests have been bidding on legislative votes ever since.

Our campaign is a fierce opponent of Citizens United. We know the consequences of this decision, and we have seen Michiganders live with the fallout for 10 years.

Jon got into government to serve people, not corporations. He wants to ensure equality for all, take urgent and bold action on the climate crisis, and deliver tangible change to Southwest Michigan. To do that, we need to eliminate the role of corporate money in our democracy.

...It's not going to be easy. Corrupt influencers have weakened oversight from our government institutions and abused loopholes to hide their names from the ads we see online and on TV.

Washington is only making matters worse; far too many politicians answer to the corporations that fund their re-election campaign and not to the people who vote for them.

Our political system is broken, but we're not helpless. Our founders granted Congress the power to update our Constitution in order to overcome new threats to our democracy.

Like Jon Hoadley, Tom Winter is a progressive state Rep running for Congress in a district held by a Republican. "Money is not speech," he said, just as all the Blue America candidates I spoke to said. "Corporations are not people. These simple truths are something Montanans figured out over a century ago when we were the first to ban corporations from buying our politicians and our government. The Citizens United ruling robbed us of our state's progressive and historic campaign finance laws. Since then dark out-of-state money has flooded our elections and drowned out the voices of working Montanans. We can not allow the Koch brothers and shady corporations to buy out-of-state multimillionaires Matt Rosendale and Greg Gianforte a Congressional and Governor's seat in Montana."

That video up top was made by Audrey Denney for her campaign. She's running in a red-leaning district in the northeast corner of California against a corporate-owned Trumpist. In a statement yesterday, she reminded CA-01 voters that "Ten years ago, five justices on the Supreme Court made a ruling that put corporate interests ahead of the voices and needs of the American people (Citizens United v. F.E.C.). That decision has driven corruption in our government for over a decade, allowing Dark Money to buy elections and influence policymakers to act against the very people they have sworn to serve. These corporate PACs and special interests have spent billions of dollars to keep prescription drug costs high, to obstruct common sense gun safety laws, to inhibit action toward addressing and reversing climate change, to fuel partisan gridlock, and to damage the very fabric of our democracy. Friends, in ten years since the Citizens United decision, Representative LaMalfa has accepted over $1.4 million in corporate PAC contributions, and he has repeatedly voted against the best interests of the people he was elected to represent. I am running for Congress because you deserve better than a Congressman who is beholden to outside interests. That's why I won’t accept a single dime from corporate PACs, and I will support candidates who honor that same commitment. That’s why when you elect me in November 2020, I will fight for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and demand transparency from corporations and PACs. That’s why every decision I make will be made with your voice and your needs in mind."

Marie Newman, the Chicagoland progressive who was about to beat corporate Blue Dog Dan Lipinski in 2018, saw a flood of largely Republican sewer money come flooding into her district at the last second to smear her from so that she was no longer even recognizable. Today she told me that "Having been the victim of Dark Money in my last race, I understand this issue from all sides. As a candidate, you have no control who will or will not be able to fund your opponent. Often times, corporate money hamstrings politicians and we feel it because those folks, like my opponent, will be under the control of corporations for their entire term. They will do what they are told, instead of what is needed. We need dramatic change. We need to pack the court and overturn Citizens United."

Indiana progressive Jennifer Christie told us this morning how this all works against the interests of ordinary Americans. "Ten years ago, the courts wrongly decided that corporations, not people, could spend unlimited amounts in pursuit of policies and politicians that benefit their bottom line. The Citizens United decision is perhaps the greatest threat to our Democracy and our future because corporations can drown out your voice by simply spending unlimited amounts on propaganda in favor of their chosen politician. As a result, we have seen almost no legislative movement on climate action. The last 5 years have been the hottest on earth, our ice caps are melting, and we are living in the beginning of a mass extinction. Yet even in the face of an existential threat, we see an astonishing lack of leadership. Meanwhile, the U.S. spends over $600 billion on fossil fuel subsidies while fossil fuel corporations continue to donate and spend to influence our future. Healthcare costs have risen 5 times faster than wages, and prescription drug prices skyrocket pass the rate of inflation. Over 30 million Americans are without health insurance and twice as many are under-insured. Meanwhile, insurance and pharma companies are making record profits and spend tens of millions on campaign contributions and unlimited amounts on political ads. We continue to see mass shootings and gun violence in our nation coupled with a failure to act. Yet the NRA and gun lobby has been given a blank check to advocate on behalf of their favorite politicians. Americans from all political backgrounds overwhelmingly agree that corporate influence does not belong in politics. And that is why our campaign is not accepting corporate PAC money. Our democracy is not for sale. Let’s remember that corporations are not people. People Vote, not companies. We need to end corporate influence in politics, and it starts by running a campaign for and by the People."

Eva Putzova, a progressive candidate and former Bernie DNC delegate candidate, is running for a seat held by "ex"-Republican Tom O'Halleran, who now calls himself a Blue Dog and is known on K Street as someone who is always for sale and always gorging himself on corporate cash. Eva: "The Citizens United decision is a boon to the wealthy elites who can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to buy politicians to do their bidding. My opponent, the incumbent congressman takes hundreds of thousands of dollars in corporate PAC money and his votes reflect their wishes. I refuse to accept any corporate money and cannot be bought. We need to elect a brand new Congress that will overturn Citizens United and ensure that campaigns are publicly funded and not controlled by wealthy donors. As I talk to the regular people in the district-- regardless of the party-- we share the same goal: getting money out of politics."

In regard to a not unrelated earlier post today, Eva added that "There is a great divide between what ordinary Democratic voters want and what party elites stand for. The leaders of the party at the state and national level, with a few exceptions, are often too timid to advance the bold positions supported by rank and file voters. Most voters are opposed to corporate influence in the electoral process but the leadership of the Democratic Party relies on corporate contributions to fund their campaigns. Most voters support Medicare for All, fully publicly funded college,  bold climate action, and an end to wars of choice but party elites continue to impede those proposals because of the influence of their wealthy donors. We need to make the Democratic Party truly “democratic” by ending corporate influence in the party. If we do, the party would gain more support from working people, people of color, women, youth and environmentalists. And it would no longer be a 'center' or 'center-right' party. That is a goal I support."