Supreme Court Ruling on Campaign Spending by Corporations

In my view the recent Supreme Court decision on campaign spending by corporations is based on two false premises. One is that corporations are entitled to the same first amendment rights as actual persons. The second is that money equals speech. One cannot find support for either proposition in the Constitution or its Amendments. Can you possibly imagine Jefferson or Madison supporting giving artificial constucts like corporations full First Amendment rights? Any argument that the current majority are strict constructionists has gone out the window with this recent decision. Instead, we saw a wholesale abrogation of precedents in favor of one set of interests over others. Elections DO matter, for they result in this kind of outrageous miscarriage of justice. That whirring sound you hear are the founding fathers spinning in their graves. One day this decision will be overturned. May it be soon.

There's been a lot of theoretical talk about the impact this Supreme Court ruling may have. But, if you want a real life, actual example of how the system can be abused by this ruling, look at how the CEO of Massey Coal put $3 million into the race for a seat on the West Virginia Supreme Court. His candidate was elected and shortly afterwards voted in favor of Massey in an important case. Read all about it in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co.