It’s sure tough to be the little guy - the common US citizen - isn’t it? Despite all the guarantees put forth in the Constitution, our government is still controlled by special interests. Not us peons.
The Supreme Court set us back a few decades last week when a 5-4 decision okayed companies and unions ability to spend freely on ads that promote or target particular candidates by name. It also lifts a ban on corporate and union-paid issue-based ads in the final days of a campaign.
How easy is it now going to be for a politician to climb into bed with special interests? Quite. If not, their opponent just might and then steal the election. It’s a field day for graft.
President Obama lashed out at the decision over the weekend. “We don’t need to give any more voice to the powerful interests that already drown out the voices of everyday Americans,” he said. “And we don’t intend to.”
The White House will attempt to legislate away the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision, which basically used the First Amendment’s “freedom of speech” as the reason to allow these transgressions against decency. The House of Representatives and Senate must approve any bills on the subject before Obama could sign it into law.
The White House has a number of measures it is proposing: require the approval of a majority of shareholders before a corporation can run a political ad; require the CEO to appear at the end of the ad; limit the ad spending of corporations who received bailout money; and/or limit privileges that come with corporate status concerning political ads.
If this Supreme Court ruling is allowed to stand, any candidate that stood for environmental or social issues would likely be squashed by the big businesses whose profits would be trimmed.
Isn’t democracy grand?
- Mountain Man and City Girl http://www.MountainManandCityGirl.com
The blogsite of Jewell Real Estate Agency, Wildwood Crest, NJ http://www.JewellRealEstateAgency.com