Month: June 2012

Massachusetts legislators calling for Constitutional Amendment to reverse Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision

By Michael Norton and Matt Murphy

State House News Service

June 23, 2012

BOSTON — Concord Rep. Cory Atkins feels one of her colleagues this election cycle could become the first local victim of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision.

To hear Atkins tell it, the court’s January 2010 ruling means there’s nothing stopping corporate interests from swooping in days before the election and dumping large amounts of cash into Super PAC ads targeting a particular representative or senator, who would then be unable to respond proportionately.

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U.S. Conference of Mayors adopts resolution on corporate personhood.

At its 80th annual meeting, in mid-June, the U.S. Conference of Mayors voted unanimously, by voice, to:

"Establish as a position of the United States Conference of Mayors that corporations should not receive the same legal rights as natural persons do, that money is not speech, and that independent expenditures should be regulated"

The resolution can be viewed at:
http://usmayors.org/category/resolutions/80th_Conference/metro18.asp

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Reading tea leaves: an update for those watching & waiting

The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to issue its procedural decision in the Montana case challenging Citizens United.

Here’s a good attempt to interpret where things may be headed, based on the very limited information made public so far, from Brenda Wright’s blog "Policy Shop", published by Demos:

Supreme Court Delays Decision On Montana Money In Politics Case

Brenda Wright

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Sen. John McCain: “corporations are not people”

Senator McCain embraced our view that corporations are not people in an interview with Judy Woodruff on the PBS NewsHour broadcast today.

The relevant parts begin at the 7:28 mark, and the key excerpt is transcribed below.   (If you see only a blank space immediately below, please either wait a minute or so for the video to load and appear, or try clicking the link to the PBS News Hour below.)

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Great L.A. Times Op-Ed by Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock

OP-ED: Montana — big sky, clean politics
Can the state preserve its limits on corporate money in elections?

By Steve Bullock
June 15, 2012

It’s too bad American electoral races aren’t as transparent as NASCAR races. Tattooed across NASCAR drivers’ jumpsuits and over every square inch of their cars are the logos of the companies sponsoring the teams, underwriting the costs, paying their salaries. Everyone can see who the drivers represent and who is footing the bill.

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