It's common sense, or at least it used to be.
- Corporations are not people. Only people are people.
- Money is not speech.
- The People should decide elections, not big money corporations.
This Saturday is the second anniversary of the United States Supreme Court "Citizens United" decision. In that case, the Supreme Court explicitly stated what they have been working towards in case after case for over 100 years: corporations are people and money is speech, so corporate "persons" can't have their speech limited by contribution limits or disclosure requirements.
Practically overnight, Super PACs and other groups sprung up to take these corporate dollars and support pro-1% politicians. The 2012 GOP Presidential primary has already seen record spending by corporate dollars and it is only going to get worse once the general election begins.
In 2008, the Obama campaign raised $745 million, a record fundraising total in any campaign ever. That same year, one company, ExxonMobil, made over $45 Billion in PROFITS. If they were to spend just 2% of their profits to influence an election, they could outspend any candidate and effectively silence millions of people. And that is just ONE company.
Our democracy is not for sale. We may not always agree on every issue, but most people, outside of the corporate "persons" believe that "We the People" should make the decision, not big multinational corporate money operating from the shadows.
Corporations may be powerful, but all is not lost. National polls have shown 85% of Americans, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, are against this horrible decision. Montana has banned corporate involvement in elections for almost 100 years and their ban was just upheld at the Montana Supreme Court.
The grassroots across the country are organizing and educating people about how corporate personhood and unlimited contributions distort and corrupt our political process.
Our government needs to return to its constitutional roots. It is of, for, and by the "people", not the corporations.
We can change it, but we need to stand up now.
ProgressOhio has joined with national and local groups to mark the Citizens United anniversary and renew a call to end unlimited corporate influence in our political system.
Will you join us in a call to overturn this decision and return the government to the people?
Today at 3 pm at the Federal Courthouse in Columbus (85 Marconi Blvd - click for directions) we will be rallying and protesting in solidarity with other actions at Federal Courthouses in all 50 states and over 120 cities, including the Supreme Court in Washington, DC.
We will have great speakers, a drum line and entertainment, and more information about coming together to end corporate rule over our elections.
Dress warm and bring your signs (without sticks) against corporate personhood and corporate rule. It may be cold today, but if we don't want to be locked out of government and left in the voiceless cold forever, we need to stand up NOW.
Together we can save democracy, and overturning Citizens United is the first step. I hope to see you there!
