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The election of President Donald Trump will likely define this decade, but the breakdown in our political system which sowed deeper partisan divisions and ultimately paved the way for his White House victory can be traced back to a single January day almost exactly ten years ago.
On Jan. 21, 2010, then-Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy cast the deciding vote in the Citizens United case, which was brought by a group chaired by David Bossie, who would later serve as Trump’s deputy campaign manager.
Kennedy wrote in the majority decision that limits on independent expenditures violated the First Amendment rights of corporations and other groups, effectively overturning spending restrictions dating back more than a century.
The decision allowed corporations to spend unlimited money on campaign ads as long as they did not formally coordinate with candidates or political parties. According to Kennedy, there could not be corruption, because “an independent expenditure is political speech presented to the electorate that is not coordinated […]
“First Amendment rights of corporations”. What a silly concept.
While I personally have mixed feelings about the ruling, I noted that that bastion of the “far right” the ACLU filed a brief supporting the case and the resulting decision. I’ve also seen cautions attributed to the DNC about any attempt to have the decision reversed because it would interfere with their fund raising.
I agree with you Stephan, the Citizens United decision was one of the worst decisions the Supreme Court made and was a big part of the takeover of the USA by the Plutocrats.