I AM NOT A CORPORATION

And General Motors is not a person.  Well, they weren't for 150 years of our history, until the Supreme Court ruled they were...reversing years of cases and precedents.

In a case known as Citizens United (for one of the parties) the court held that corporations are to be considered as a "person" under the law so far as political speech and activity is concerned; meaning they can NOT be regulated as far as contributions to candidates and parties are concerned, nor in their support for them in other ways...just as you and I.

Out the window went decades of meager attempts to regulate campaign spending. The doors to corporate Fort Knoxes are open and the possibilities of influencing, even outright buying, of candidates and office are incredible.

   

What couldn't be accomplished by regulation, because the parties in Congress often deadlocked on proposed regulation--each seeking whatever advantage for its side they could, is accomplished by one vote on the UN-elected high court.

This fall we will probably see an incredible amount of money spent on all sides, with more TV ads than ever  (thank you Supreme Court!), and with secret attempts to buy races. I say secret because there has been no corresponding attempt for openness.  Donations are hidden under lofty sounding names of PACs (political action committees), many contributions now do not have to be made public, a weak Federal Election Commission can't police what little they have to police, one major agency to assist  them hasn't been named (in over 2 years since it was authorized), and one of the strongest voices in Congress for full disclosure of contributions, etc--our own "Mitch" has been strangely silent since the Citizens United decision.

Maybe, if things get as bad this fall as I suspect they may, we citizens can unite to get some changes in the next Congress (assuming all that money hasn't bought an even more subservient group) or even in the Supreme Court  (the same group that issued the Dred Scott decision  the "separate but equal" decision, said women could legally be paid less than men for the same work,etc. etc. etc.)--You are out of step with the ideals of American Democracy, and it's time for a change.

I'm just sayin'...