The Daily Parker

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Democracy takes one on the chin

In a major victory for the slippery-slope theory of jurisprudence, the Supreme Court today removed all barriers to corporate dominance in politics:

In a 5-4 decision, the court's conservative bloc said corporations have the same First Amendment rights as individuals and, for that reason, the government may not stop corporations from spending freely to influence the outcome of federal elections.

Until now, corporations and unions have been barred from spending their own treasury funds on broadcast ads or billboards that urge the election or defeat of a federal candidate. This restriction dates back to 1907 when President Theodore Roosevelt called on Congress to forbid corporations, railroads and national banks from using their money in federal election campaigns. After World War II, Congress extended this ban to labor unions.

Just like the repeal of Glass-Steagall, the people most at risk from the removal of restrictions are the ones least likely to remember why they were there in the first place.

I'll have more to say once I read the case and digest it. My initial reaction is horror. I only hope that someday we can look back on this case with the disdain that we, today, reserve for Dred Scott or Plessy v. Ferguson, both of them deeply damaging decisions that looked, at the time, to some people, like perfectly natural interpretations of existing law.

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