Ruth Bader Ginsburg:'I would overturn SCOTUS Citizens United Ruling-Our System Is Polluted by Money'

[skepticscott]

17. In the first place, it wasn't that sweeping a decision

and it didn't have any effect on direct campaign contributions at all-those laws were left exactly as they'd had been before. Whatever mess money had made of things, it was pretty much that big a mess before CU. CU addressed one aspect of spending by third parties on political ads, and that's it. Second, it didn't significantly expand corporate personhood, and didn't need to. Free political speech can't be restricted by Congress under the First Amendment, period. Where the speech is coming from is irrelevant. Third, why is she wanting to overturn CU? Because it was clearly and demonstrably wrong from a constitutional standpoint? If that's her claim, neither she nor anyone else has made a convincing argument to that effect. Because it (allegedly) had undesirable consequences? So did Mapp v Ohio. Criminals who were clearly guilty went free because evidence was excluded. Is she agreeing with conservatives who ranted for years that that decision should be overturned? And if it's because it offends her personal political ideology, then that's the worst possible reason for a Supreme Court justice to publicly denounce a decision.