Posted on Wednesday, 27 January, 2010
The US Supreme Court announced its long-awaited decision in the Citizens United case on January 21st. The 5-4 ruling overturns a 63 year-old law and two previous court decisions that barred corporations and unions from weighing in directly to campaigns. Going forth, there will be no limits on what corporations and unions can spend to elect or defeat candidates. Contributions directly to Federal campaigns will still be limited, but those limits will matter less, given the wide-open nature of this new landscape. Georgia already allows corporate and union contributions to campaigns, so the impact may be felt less here than elsewhere, but the decision definitely portends more money in the system from big donors, and that’s not good news for the average citizen. To read the Common Cause perspective on the Citizens decision, click here. To read the news story, click here.
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