Thursday, June 07, 2012

Latest on Citizens United: Proposed Constitutional Amendment

A constitutional amendment to overrule Citizens United has been proposed in Congress. It probably
 won't get far.  (1) Many proposed amendments are just grandstanding/feel good efforts (2) I don't think this is an issue that will move the average voter or legislator to push hard. (3)  It is obviously a partisan move and will not  get bipartisan support.  (4)  Fiddling  First Amendment issues by restrictions will send up a red flag and set a dangerous precedent. I doubt event the left-leaning ACLU would want to take that step. Thanks to Dale Christopersen for the lead and link.

A few points that have been ignored by much of the media re Citizens United:
  
  The Citizens United decision benefited private corporations and Republicans, but the basic principle will protect Democrats if they ever become the targets.  The basic problem with the amendment and the criticism of Citizens United is that it only addresses one part of the problem.  If the problem is too much money being spent, too much material for voters, etc. then across the board contribution or spending limits are the solution.  Why single out only one segment?  The ban on union activity is just a drop in the bucket compared to the impact on corporations.  Hypocrisy and political advantage are the explanations.  The reason for it all  is that the segment targeted is generally conservative. Perhaps there could be some limits on TV time or something along that line. Any "solution" will raise serious First Amendment issues, and will probably never work as long as the courts are serious about the First Amendment. Any "solution" that targets only certain segments will be suspect.  

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