https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-legacy-of-citizens-united-has-been-destructive-we-need-campaign-finance-reform/2020/01/20/1fc3a570-3973-11ea-bf30-ad313e4ec754_story.html
Fred Wertheimer
January 20, 2020
Jan. 21 marks the
10th anniversary of the disastrous
Citizens United decision, the most consequential — and destructive — campaign finance decision by the Supreme Court in nearly half a century. The legacy of
Citizens United has been even more damaging than almost anyone understood when the ruling came down.
The decision helped return the most dangerous and corrupting money to our elections.
It provided the wealthiest Americans with a predominant role in campaign financing by giving birth to super PACs permitted to collect multimillion-dollar checks. It allowed hundreds of millions of dollars in large, secret contributions to be spent to influence federal elections through the use of undisclosed “dark money” given to nonprofits.
In short, the destructive impact of
Citizens United on our political system has made the Watergate campaign finance scandals, the worst of the last century, look like child’s play.
The history of money in American politics is a cyclical story of scandal and reform. Scandals occur. Reforms are enacted. They work for some period of time. When they are not enforced or updated to address changed circumstances, they eventually break down. New scandals occur. New reforms follow. And the cycle repeats.
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