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King_Hellebuyck posted...

Citizens United allows corporations to spend MORE THAN PEOPLE

Do you understand that?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._FEC

"The United States Supreme Court held (54) on January 21, 2010, that the free speech clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution prohibits the government from restricting independent expenditures for communications by nonprofit corporations, for-profit corporations, labor unions, and other associations."

http://uscommonsense.org/research/citizens-united/

"Prior to Citizens United, campaign spending was regulated by the Federal Election Campaign Act and amended by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. These laws prohibited corporations from spending money on independent expenditures or financing electioneering communications.

...

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the prohibition on corporate spending for independent expenditures and electioneering communications was unconstitutional. Arguing that laws restricting political speech must be subject to strict scrutiny, the Court ruled against the FEC and reversed the ban on corporate spending. However, the ruling upheld the existing disclaimer and disclosure requirements."

https://www.publicintegrity.org/2012/10/18/11527/citizens-united-decision-and-why-it-matters

"The Citizens United ruling, released in January 2010, tossed out the corporate and union ban on making independent expenditures and financing electioneering communications. It gave corporations and unions the green light to spend unlimited sums on ads and other political tools, calling for the election or defeat of individual candidates.

In a nutshell, the high courts 5-4 decision said that it is OK for corporations and labor unions to spend as much as they want to convince people to vote for or against a candidate.

The decision did not affect contributions. It is still illegal for companies and labor unions to give money directly to candidates for federal office. The court said that because these funds were not being spent in coordination with a campaign, they do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption.

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/22/magazine/how-much-has-citizens-united-changed-the-political-game.html

"The reason for this exponential leap in political spending, if you talk to most Democrats or read most news reports, comes down to two words: Citizens United. The term is shorthand for a Supreme Court decision that gave corporations much of the same right to political speech as individuals have, thus removing virtually any restriction on corporate money in politics. The oft-repeated narrative of 2012 goes like this: Citizens United unleashed a torrent of money from businesses and the multimillionaires who run them, and as a result we are now seeing the corporate takeover of American politics."
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