Citizens United: As Bad As You Thought It Was

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/bill-berkowitz/33187/citizens-united-as-bad-as-you-thought-it-was

If you've been waiting for the numbers to be crunched -- as opposed to going with your gut - to assess the ramifications of the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, your wait is over. The office of New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has issued a new report which found that more anonymously donated money was dumped into this past election cycle, which according to the Associated Press, "account for about a third of all spending by outside groups in the 2010 election cycle." And, more anonymous money led to a marked increase in negative advertising.

More on the report in a bit, but first, a related side bar.

On Sunday, Chris Wallace interviewed Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer on his Fox News Sunday program. Promoting his new book Making Our Democracy Work: A Judge's View, Breyer was asked by Wallace whether it was appropriate for President Barack Obama to openly criticize a Supreme Court decision during this year's State of the Union Address.

If you'll remember, during his State of the Union Address Obama was critical of the Court's 5-4 decision in the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case, a decision that many feared would allow for unlimited, and anonymous, funding of U.S. political campaigns. "With all due deference to separation of powers," the president said, "last week the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the flood gates to special interests, including foreign corporations, to spend without limit in our elections. I don't think American elections should be bankrolled by America's most powerful interests, or worse by foreign enemies. They should be decided by the American people." The president urged Congress to "pass a bill that helps correct it."

Cameras captured Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. shaking his head and silently mouthing "not true" as the president spoke. Democratic Party legislators leaped to their feet, began applauding wildly, and cheered the president's words. The media debate that followed was less about the potential ramifications of the Citizens United decision and more about whether Alito had violated judicial custom by his display, and or whether Obama had rudely criticized a Supreme Court decision.

More at the link ---

[midnight]

1. K&R.

[DenverDad]

2. So much for "the PEOPLE have spoken".

:thumbsdown: