Posted on Monday, 8 February, 2010
In its recent Citizens United decision, the US Supreme Court has struck down more than a century of law banning corporate and union money from political campaigns. Such limitations, first put in place by President Teddy Roosevelt and subsequently expanded by Republican and Democratic leaders alike, were designed to ensure that American democracy lived up to the ideal of "one person, one vote." Now, without meaningful restrictions on such spending, we expect to see this ideal withered by the relentless flow of big money into our elections. Common Cause is working at the state level to ensure that there are tight disclosure rules on such spending, and that a "voter-owned" program is put in place, so that candidates have a meaningful alternative to the barrage of corporate campaign cash. Meanwhile, click here to read UNC Law Professor and friend of Common Cause Gene Nichol’s fine piece on the meaning of this landmark Supreme Court decision.
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