...I am not surprised that our Dear Leader is flustered by it...
The White House and Democratic lawmakers are moving swiftly to come up with new restraints on corporate political spending, including advertising limits on any company receiving bailout money, to blunt the impact of a Supreme Court ruling President Barack Obama calls “devastating.”
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“We don't need to give any more voice to the powerful interests that already drown out the voices of everyday Americans,” Obama said Saturday, devoting his weekly radio and Internet address to the topic. “And we don't intend to.”
The White House is working chiefly with Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y, on a bill pushing back on the court decision. The goal is to put forward legislation within two weeks, Van Hollen said Saturday, but the choices are limited by the nature of the court's First Amendment ruling.
...because considering that he and his fellow Democrats on Capitol Hill have zero respect for the Second Amendment, why would any sentient being think they give a damn about the First? I know everyone probably thinks the Democrats are always on the side of the little man, but with their constant assaults on individual rights in so many arenas, that should have been shown as the falsehood that it was long ago. I wonder, though, what does one make of them on one hand saying one collective (the militia) is deserving of constitutional protection while another (the corporation) isn't? Is a little consistency too much to ask for here?
What really gets me, though, is the media attacking the decision in Citizens United v. FEC:
Mark your calendars, folks. Yesterday, we the people lost all control over our representation. Whether your (sic) a Democrat, Republican or conscientious objector, the U.S. Supreme Court rained on your election parade.
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The court based its ruling on the notion of the corporation as individual. These entities have the same First Amendment rights as all of us. The problem, of course, is that we don't have millions at our disposal to influence elections. They do.
Huh. Here's a question all those who take that line of thought (and most of those who believe it) apparently haven't stopped to consider. Where exactly do those corporations get that money? Out of their damn fourth points of contact? If individuals don't like the tack certain corporations take politically, they are more than free to support corporations who will support the same things they do. You see to this day, for example, gunnies talking about the boycott of Smith and Wesson after the company made that deal with the Clinton DOJ and how said boycott affected the company. There's no reason that same principle can't be applied elsewhere.
And here's another thought: Most if not all the money we're talking about here is going to be spent on advertisements --- advertisements in media outlets. These media outlets are absolutely free NOT to take the money or run the ads. The ONLY way corporations get more power here is if the media GIVE IT TO THEM. Hey, Big Media? If you don't like the corporations' ability to spend their money with you, DON'T TAKE THEIR DAMN MONEY! IT REALLY IS THAT SIMPLE! Seems to me the media are only willing to stand up for the individual only to the extent their collective bottom lines won't be affected.
Sabra has more thoughts, bringing teh snark as only she can:
First off. "The court based its ruling on the notion of the corporation as individual." Damned activist judges. I mean, it's not as if corporations have been treated as individuals since at least the 1700s. Really, we need to restrict the concept of First Amendment rights to actual individuals. That way we can concentrate on important things, like ensuring strippers have the right to dance fully nude.
Yep, and if the corporations CAN'T spend the money to counter whatever media bias they encounter, the media can continue to spin whatever issues they want in whatever way they want and say, "let the corps buy an ad! Oh, wait...they CAN'T! HAHAHAHA!" But now, the media are going to have to take a look at selling that ad space, more so considering the dire financial straits in which media find themselves these days. You'd think they'd be rejoicing. I wouldn't be surprised if the ad departments and most rank-and-file reporters are, though...
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