Sorry this blog has been inactive for so long. I now vow to
update it regularly.
You have probably seen the news about the recent Supreme Court
decision on corporate spending in elections. Here is the national
League of Women Voters response:
CITIZENS UNITED DECISION SETS OFF REVOLUTION IN CAMPAIGN
FINANCE
Supreme Court Erred, Decision Undermines Basic Pillar of American
Democracy
Washington, DC –The following is a statement by Mary G. Wilson,
national president of the League of Women Voters on the Supreme
Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC. The League filed an
amicus brief in this case:
“The Supreme Court has made a tragic mistake. Their decision
announced today in Citizens United v. FEC is constitutionally
irresponsible and will surely bring about an anti-democratic
revolution in how we finance elections in this country. Today,
basic pillars of American democracy have been undermined – that
elections should not be corrupted by vast corporate wealth and that
the voters should be at the center of our democratic system.
“Justice Stevens had it right when he said, in his dissent, ‘The
Court’s ruling threatens to undermine the integrity of elected
institutions across the Nation. The path it has taken to reach its
outcome will, I fear, do damage to this institution.’
“In creating a new constitutional right for corporations to
spend unlimited amounts of their shareholder’s money to determine
the outcome in candidate elections, the Court has unleashed into
our elections tremendous sums of money from for-profit corporations
that cannot possibly be matched in quantity by contributions from
ordinary citizens. The only possible outcome of this is that big
money and special interests will have an even tighter grip on our
democracy.
“Congress and the President enacted campaign finance laws over a
series of decades for a reason – to protect our democracy from the
perverse influence of big money in our elections. In making this
decision, the Court has ignored the best interests of the American
public and our representative form of government.”
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The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political
organization, encourages informed and active participation in
government, works to increase understanding of major public policy
issues, and influences public policy through education and
advocacy.
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