The Supreme Court says Citizens United also applies to state elections
by Thom Hartmann
June 25, 2012
The Supreme Court had a chance to correct its mistake with Citizens United today - but chose not to. In another 5-to-4 ruling, the Conservative justices struck down a Montana law that banned corporate spending in state elections - and ruled that it's 2010 Citizens United decision applies not just to federal elections - but state elections as well.
Twenty-two states, plus the District of Columbia, and several lawmakers urged the high court to hear oral arguments in the case and re-litigate Citizens United now that the damage of the decision is clearly on display two years later. Right-wing Justice Anthony Kennedy ruled in 2010 that corporate spending in our elections, "do[es] not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption."
But today, with billionaires like Sheldon Adelson and the Koch Brothers pledging to spend a half billion dollars to elect Mitt Romney - you'd have to be born yesterday to believe that the money comes with no strings attached. In post-Citizens United politics - the oligarchs in America are no longer making campaign contributions - they're making investments and expecting big returns.
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