Johann Neem: The Spoils of the Citizens United Decision and Its Affront to Democratic Deliberation
[Johann Neem is associate professor of history at Western Washington University and author of "Creating a Nation of Joiners: Democracy and Civil Society in Early National Massachusetts" (2008).]
NOW that the midterm elections are over, we can better grapple with the true costs of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United vs. the Federal Election Commission and the immediate outpouring of cash that shaped the elections' outcome.
The 2010 decision determined that corporations and labor unions are entitled to free speech protection under the First Amendment.
Skeptics following the Citizens United decision suggested the only thing corporations cannot do now is vote, but perhaps the effectiveness of their spending suggests that, indeed, they have found a way to vote by buying enough airtime to make impossible meaningful discussions about candidates and policies. In effect, they determine what opinions can be heard....
Read entire article at Seattle Times
NOW that the midterm elections are over, we can better grapple with the true costs of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United vs. the Federal Election Commission and the immediate outpouring of cash that shaped the elections' outcome.
The 2010 decision determined that corporations and labor unions are entitled to free speech protection under the First Amendment.
Skeptics following the Citizens United decision suggested the only thing corporations cannot do now is vote, but perhaps the effectiveness of their spending suggests that, indeed, they have found a way to vote by buying enough airtime to make impossible meaningful discussions about candidates and policies. In effect, they determine what opinions can be heard....