"Corporations Are Not People": Jayapal Files Bill to Reverse "Citizens United"
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington) has introduced a bill that would end corporate personhood with the goal of reversing Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the infamous Supreme Court decision that has unleashed a flood of corporate “dark money” into the U.S. election system, threatening to undermine democracy altogether. The We the People Amendment, introduced in the House with 26 cosponsors, proposes a Constitutional Amendment that would establish that only people — not “artificial entities” like lobbying groups and corporations — have rights given by the Constitution. This would undercut the root of the Citizens United decision, in which Supreme Court justices ruled that limiting political spending from corporations constitutes a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech.
“Corporations are not people and money is not speech,” Jayapal said in a statement. “In every election cycle since the disastrous Citizens United decision, we have seen more and more special interest dark money poured into campaigns across the country. My We the People Amendment returns the power to the people by finally ending corporate constitutional rights, reversing Citizens United, and ensuring that our democracy is truly of the people, by the people, and for the people — not corporations.” Overturning Citizens United has been a longtime goal of progressive lawmakers and advocates, who have warned that the vast and growing influence of corporations and billionaires on elections is destroying what semblance of democracy the U.S. has.
Ever since the 2010 decision, the amount of outside spending on elections has increased precipitously in every election cycle, with a direct effect on election results; last year’s midterm elections were the most expensive in history, while the vast majority of House races were won by the biggest spender. At the state level, this is causing an extreme lurch to the right within state legislatures, fueling the GOP’s unprecedented fights against abortion access, public education and LGBTQ rights.
https://truthout.org/articles/corporations-are-not-people-jayapal-files-bill-to-reverse-citizens-united/
= new reply since forum marked as read
Yeah, that'll happen.
I've always suspected the old fat cats of the GQP, i.e. Carnegies, Rockefellers, Kochs, Waltons, etc., wanted their fortunes to give them not just a big financial advantage but a big political advantage as well. John Roberts & Co. were happy to oblige. It has severely corrupted the political system. I seldom hear of dark money problems in European and other democracies that are smart enough to know money is not speech.
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