Concerning the amendment to overturn Citizens United: Senator Mitch McConnell, in a fit of silliness, deems the amendment “an all-out assault on the right to free speech.” And Senator Ted Cruz ridiculously asserts that the amendment will “repeal the First Amendment.” But here are the facts: This amendment will reinforce free speech for living, breathing people like you and me. It will restore a First Amendment that has been grievously wounded by the Supreme Court’s confounding inability to distinguish between speech and money, between people and corporations. Here are some brief highlights of what this amendment says: It will give Congress and the states authority to keep corporate election spending from drowning out the voices of everyday citizens. It will allow We the People to end the outside spending — by super PACs and “dark money” outfits run by the likes of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Karl Rove and the Koch Brothers — that corrodes our democracy. It will restore limits on the total amount the super-rich can donate to candidates, parties and PACs or spend on their own self-financed campaigns. It will permit us to set limits on the total amounts candidates and their supporters can spend. It will give us the freedom to replace our current system of legalized political bribery with a robust public financing system. And it will bring back the kind of elections our founders intended, our citizenry deserves and our democracy absolutely requires. Isn’t that the kind of democracy we want to pass on to your children and grandchildren?
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 02:10:06 +0000
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