When we commissioned a poll to gauge what Americans thought about the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC, we expected to find strong opposition to the idea of unlimited corporate influence in elections. But even we were stunned by how strong that opposition was. 85% of those surveyed disagreed with the Supreme Court’s decision to give corporations unlimited power to spend in elections, and 74% supported a Constitutional Amendment to reverse it.
Today, in a packed Netroots Nation panel organized by People For, activists and elected officials gave their loud and clear endorsement of a Constitutional Amendment to undo Citizens United and return elections to voters.
The audience responded with a standing ovation when panelist Rep. Donna Edwards declared her support for an amendment saying, “Let’s not let anything undo our power over our elections.”
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By Colby Itkowitz
Even before Senate Republicans blocked passage of a campaign finance disclosure bill on Tuesday, Democrats were sharpening a campaign message to cast GOP candidates as beholden to corporations, not everyday Americans.
“The choice on this bill is clear: You either stand for increased transparency in the political process or you want to allow unidentified — and foreign — corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns,” said U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, a Democrat representing Bucks County.
The Disclose Act was a direct effort to scale back January’s Supreme Court ruling that equated corporations and unions with individuals and said they could spend freely on political ads. The bill aimed to require strict disclosure from businesses buying campaign ads, including the donors who financed the ads.
The Senate fell short of the 60 votes needed. The House of Representatives passed its version in late June largely along party lines, including a provision written by Murphy to require corporations to also disclose the location of their companies in the ad itself.
Democrats, led by President Barack Obama, have railed against the Supreme Court decision , warning that corporations will spend large sums trying to influence elections. [Read more]
President Barack Obama is imploring Republican senators to allow a vote on new campaign finance disclosure requirements, warning them not to resort to political delaying tactics that would block the legislation.
Speaking in the Rose Garden on Monday, Obama said that by standing in the way of the bill, Republicans would be giving special interest groups increased sway in Washington.
“Corporate lobbyists will be able to tell members of Congress, if they don’t vote the right way, they will face an onslaught of negative ads in their next campaign,” Obama said. “And all too often, no one will actually know who’s behind those ads.”
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