text:
Next week, the Senate will vote on the DISCLOSE Act, which would bring much needed transparency to the corporate and special interest money that allows the wealthiest few to take over our airways and coöpt our elections. Since the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision, corporations have been able to spend freely from their treasuries to overpower the voice of the American people.
While a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United or a change to the composition of the Supreme Court are the only ways to completely reverse that decision, the DISCLOSE Act is a strong step in the right direction.
It's not a new idea. First introduced in 2010 in response to Citizens United, the bill would require groups airing election ads to disclose the source of the money. Because ads can be misleading, it is essential to for voters to know who is behind them in order to properly evaluate the constant inundation of political messages. It is a simple step to increase transparency in our elections.
Of course, the GOP blocked it.
Republicans in Congress weren't always opposed to disclosure. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell once said, way back in 2000, "Why would a little disclosure be better than a lot of disclosure?" Yet after Citizens United, he's dramatically changed his tune, calling disclousre "a cynical effort to muzzle critics of this administration and its allies in Congress."
The Republicans' change in tune isn't surprising, considering that outside spending overwhelmingly favors the GOP.
Mitt Romney raised a lot of money this weekend at a gala fundraiser in the Hamptons, where guests such as the Koch brothers paid up to $50,000 to attend. But according to the Huffington Post, one particular presence that weekend was not on the official guest list: Karl Rove.
Rove was in town to speak at a luncheon promoting his super PAC, American Crossroads, and his affiliated nonprofit group. Because American Crossroads spends its contributors' unlimited donations on ads supporting Mitt Romney (or attacking President Obama), the Romney campaign and Rove are prohibited by law from "coordinating" with each other.
As far as the law is concerned, however, "coordination" is defined narrowly at best. With the Romney event unable to sponsor Rove's luncheon, Solamere Capital, a private equity firm founded by Romney's son Tagg along with Romney's chief fundraiser Spencer Zwick, footed the bill. Many of the attendees at Rove's luncheon, scheduled the day before the official retreat weekend, were also at the campaign fundraiser. As one fundraiser who was at the retreat noted, "It was not a coincidence that the Solamere conference took place in the same city just before the retreat began."
Thanks to Citizens United, corporations and wealthy individuals and special interests can bypass the $2,500 maximum that campaign committees can accept and instead give unlimited amounts to super PACs like American Crossroads, which in turn spent about $300 million this year to support the GOP. Although in its flawed ruling the Court may have intended such outside groups to be independent, the facts just don't support that notion:
"This kind of activity [by Rove] is the last thing the Supreme Court had in mind when it ruled that spending by an outside group had to be 'totally independent' and 'wholly independent' from a candidate the group is supporting with expenditures," Fred Wertheimer, the president of Democracy 21, said in an interview. "The FEC lives in a pure fantasy world in the way it attempts to define coordinated activities as not being coordinated activities."
Citizens United has left us in quite a campaign finance mess – and a constitutional amendment to overturn that decision and related cases is the only path forward to fairer and more transparent elections.
Under the banner of United For the People, a new web platform launched today to collect and amplify the growing grassroots movement in America that is calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's flawed 2010 decision in Citizens United and restore the balance of influence in our elections to the people.
At www.peoplestestimony.com, the American people, good government organizations and elected officials can record a short video about how their lives are affected by money in politics and the outsized influence in our elections enjoyed by corporations and wealthy special interests – and what we can do about it.
Here is one such video, by PFAW staff:
To see the rest, and to find out how to submit your own video, visit www.peoplestestimony.com.
At their annual conference in Orlando, the U.S. Conference of Mayors unanimously passed a resolution in opposition to the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United, which opened the floodgates to unlimited corporate and special interest spending on elections. Citing Justice John Paul Stevens and the dissenters in the Citizens United case, the mayors' resolution declares the need to "broaden the corruption rationale for campaign finance reform to facilitate regulation of independent expenditures regardless of the source of the money for this spending, for or against a candidate." Finding compelling "fundamental interests" in "creating a level playing field and ensuring that all citizens, regardless of wealth, have an opportunity to have their political views heard," the Conference of Mayors resolves that corporations should not receive the same legal rights as natural persons and that "urgent action" be taken to reverse the impacts of Citizens United in opening the door to unlimited independent campaign expenditures by corporations that undermines "free and fair elections and effective self-governance."
The resolution calls on other communities, jurisdictions and organizations to pass similar resolutions. So far over, over 250 municipalities have already passed resolutions calling for amending the Constitution to overturn Citizens United and related cases and returning the power to influence our elections to the people. And more than 1600 public officials have gone on record in support of constitutional remedies to overturn the decision. More than 100 organizations have come together under the umbrella of United For the People to press for amending the Constitution to address the harm caused by Citizens United and related cases.
Here's a quick recap of the Supreme Court's decisions during the past week: Unions are now further disadvantaged and despite some important changes to the state's immigration law, racial profiling remains a viable option for Arizona law enforcement.
On June 21, the Supreme Court issued its decision on Knox v. Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1000. The case dealt with a labor policy several states have, known as agency shops, in which employees are not required to become members of the union representing their place of employment, but must pay dues since they benefit from the work the union does. At the point in which all employees working at an establishment that has a union presence are receiving higher wages, more vacation days, and overall better working conditions, it is only fair that all employees pay union dues and not free-ride off of just the union members who pay.
However, in the case of public sector unions, the Supreme Court held a generation ago that non-members have the right to opt out of having their dues used for political activity by the union, effectively weakening the union's ability to operate on its members' behalf. In Knox, the Court criticized the balance struck in 1986 and ruled that when the union has a mid-year special assessment or dues increase, it cannot collect any money at all from non-union members unless they affirmatively opt-in (rather than opt-out). This ruling addressed an issue that wasn't raised by the parties and that the union never had a chance to address, furthering the Right Wing's goal to hamper a union's ability to collect dues and make it harder for unions to have a voice in a post-Citizens United political environment. To add insult to injury, Justice Alito let his ideological leanings shine through when he essentially claimed right-to-work laws are good policy.
After the Knox v. SEIU decision, the court released its ruling on the highly contentious 2010 Arizona anti-immigration law, known as S.B. 1070. In a 5-3 decision, the court struck down the majority of the southwestern state's draconian immigration policy. The court ruled that much of the state's law unconstitutionally affected areas of law preempted by the federal government, acknowledging the impracticality of each state having its own immigration policy. Oppressive anti-immigrant provisions were struck down, such as one criminalizing the failure to carry proof of citizenship at all times, and a provision making it illegal under state law for an undocumented immigrant to apply for or hold a job. The decision also recognized that merely being eligible for removal is not in itself criminal, and thus the suspicion of being eligible for removal is not sufficient cause for arrest.
Although the majority of S.B. 1070 was overturned by the Supreme Court this week, one component remains, at least for the moment. Officers can still check the immigration status of anyone stopped or arrested if they had "reasonable suspicion" that the individual may be undocumented. This keeps the door wide open for racial profiling. Arresting an individual is not the same as being convicted for a crime. Latinos and other minority groups can be stopped for a crime as simple as jaywalking and "appear" suspicious enough to warrant an immigration background check. By leaving this portion of the law, the US Supreme Court has, for the time being, allowed the potential profiling of thousands of Arizona residents, regardless of whether they are immigrants or US citizens, but has left open the ability to challenge the manner in which this provision is put into practice.
Any hope that the Supreme Court would reconsider the disastrous Citizens United decision was dashed this morning, when the Court in a 5-4 decision summarily reversed a Montana Supreme Court decision on campaign finance without even hearing oral arguments. Rather than acknowledge the obvious damage done to our democracy in the 2½ years since Citizens United was decided, the five arch-conservatives solidified the distorted electoral playing field they created that lets the powerful few overwhelm the rest of America in deciding our elections.
Citizens United struck down federal restrictions on corporate independent expenditures to support or defeat a candidate based on two premises: (1) the First Amendment gives corporations the same First Amendment right as people to make independent expenditures to influence elections; and (2) independent expenditures do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption. But late last year, the Montana Supreme Court upheld that state's restrictions on corporate independent expenditures, citing its unique history of political corruption and the many factors that distinguish state and local races from the federal races at issue in Citizens United.
Although the U.S. Supreme Court quickly granted a request to stay that decision as likely at odds with Citizens United, two Justices pointed out the opportunity the Montana case raised to re-examine Citizens United's faulty factual assumptions:
Montana's experience, and experience elsewhere since [Citizens United] make it exceedingly difficult to maintain that independent expenditures by corporations "do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption." A petition for certiorari will give the Court an opportunity to consider whether, in light of the huge sums currently deployed to buy candidates' allegiance, Citizens United should continue to hold sway.
Today, due to Citizens United and its progeny, political candidates' top staffers go off to form purportedly independent "super PACs" to accept the multi-million dollar checks that the formal campaign cannot legally accept. Karl Rove and his allies are planning to raise $1 billion, much of it anonymously given, to impose Republican control over all levers of the federal government. Organizations like the Chamber of Commerce funnel millions upon millions of dollars from corporate coffers to buy up the airwaves, refusing to disclose to the American people who is paying for the political advertising they are bombarded with.
Even when wealthy donors hide their identity from the American people, they make themselves known to the candidates who benefit from their largesse. No one doubts their influence over the officials who they put into office – and who they could turn their millions of dollars against if crossed.
No one who has seen the transformation in our democracy in the past 29 months could possibly believe that "independent expenditures, including those made by corporations, do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption." This basic factual assumption underlying Citizens United has been shown to be incorrect.
As Justice Breyer said in his dissent from the Court's decision:
"[M]ontana's experience, like considerable experience elsewhere since the Court's decision in Citizens United casts grave doubt on the Court's supposition that independent expenditures do not corrupt or appear to do so."
The Montana case was the Court's chance to right a terrible wrong and take our country off a dangerously anti-democratic path. History will remember this as a great opportunity lost to the American people.
The U.S. Supreme Court this morning refused to reconsider its flawed Citizens United decision and summarily reversed a Montana Supreme Court decision by a 5-4 majority. The ruling struck down the state's century-old Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibited corporate spending in elections. The Montana court had defended the constitutionality of its longstanding law, citing the state's unique history of political corruption, the many factors that distinguish state and local races from the federal races, and the overwhelming power of corporate election spending to corrupt or create the appearance of corruption.
"In the two years since the Citizens United decision, the damage our democracy has suffered has been obvious," said Marge Baker, Executive Vice President of People For the American Way. "The decision has profoundly distorted our electoral system and handed unprecedented power to corporate interests. The Court's insistence that unlimited corporate spending doesn't create the appearance of corruption flies in the face of common sense, the opinion of the American people and the facts. Aside from the five people who wrote the original decision two years ago, it's difficult to find anyone who thinks that candidates can benefit from million dollar checks written to their SuperPACs without the 'appearance of corruption.' When faced with facts that clearly disprove a central premise of Citizens United, it's unfortunate that the Supreme Court chose to double down on its error.
"Today's decision affirms the need to reverse Citizens United by amending the Constitution. I'm proud of the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have joined our movement to do just that."
Americans overwhelmingly support constitutional remedies to overturn Citizens United. Under the banner of United For the People, more than 100 organizations, over 250 states and localities, and nearly 1700 public officials have officially endorsed amending the Constitution to overturn Citizens United.
At this week's "Take Back the American Dream" conference, Representative Keith Ellison, Missoula City Councilman Jason Weiner, Rev. Barry Hargrove, and Maryland State Senator and Constitutional Law Professor Jamie Raskin joined PFAW's Marge Baker for a panel discussion entitled "Overturning Citizens United: A Movement Mandate," to discuss the growing grassroots momentum at the local, state and federal levels for a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's flawed 2010 decision.
The standing-room only audience heard about a groundbreaking statewide ballot initiative in Montana calling for overturning the Citizens United decision by amending the Constitution, as well the pending Supreme Court decision on whether to hear the Montana State Supreme Court case giving the high court the opportunity to reconsider its decision. Panelists discussed the underlying need for amending the Constitution as the only effective way to reverse the harm caused by the Supreme Court in Citizens United. As put by Jamie Raskin, who is also a PFAW Senior Fellow, "For the sake of 'We the People' and our democracy, all corporate money is foreign money."
The panel examined how this fight has galvanized the progressive movement as a whole, from jumpstarting voter registration drives to increasing general interest in politics and civic engagement.
The Supreme Court's Citizens United decision is commonly criticized by good government advocates because it has led to countless wealthy individuals and corporations making unlimited contributions in unprecedented amounts to groups attempting to sway electoral outcomes, often anonymously. As a result, those with means are able unfairly amplify their voices above that of average Americans.
To appreciate the magnitude of the ruling's anti-democratic effects, it is important to consider the sheer amount of money that it takes to be a player in the Super-PAC game.
Sheldon Adelson, one of the world's richest men with a far-right personal political agenda, plans to contribute upwards of $71 million in this election cycle, according to the Huffington Post. He is so determined to unseat the president that, after sinking $21.5 million on Super PACs supporting Newt Gingrich's failed run, he is ready to refocus his efforts and spend similarly astronomical sums to support groups in favor of Mitt Romney and Republican congressional candidates.
His influence is real – $71 million can buy a lot of TV advertising, and ads funded by Super PACs and 501c4 groups can be particularly nasty because they are not officially "accountable" to a candidate. Average Americans, even those who can afford to contribute toward their preferred candidate, simply cannot compete on this scale. According to a friend of Adelson, "We think '$100 million, wow!' But it's a meaningless amount of money to him."
In an interview with Forbes, Adelson acknowledged the reality that his extraordinary wealth allows him to influence elections in ways he otherwise couldn't, in ways which ordinary Americans cannot. He doesn't even think it's a good thing, but that hasn't stopped him: "I'm against very wealthy people attempting to or influencing elections," he said. "But as long as it's doable, I'm going to do it."
The only way to make hijacking our elections no longer "doable" is with a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United. To anyone without a spare $100 million, the need couldn't be clearer.
Two short paragraphs from a Wall Street Journal article about billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson's political contributions vividly illustrate the damage to democracy done by the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision:
Mr. Adelson has told friends that he intends to give at least $100 million to conservative causes and candidates this election cycle. He contributed some $250,000 to Republican Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, who just won against a labor union-forced recall election there.
But he has also told his friends and colleagues that he would prefer to keep his contributions under wraps in order to avoid controversy, and will likely focus donations mostly on non-profits affiliated with political PACS, which don't have to disclose the names of donors. He is expected to donate to the conservative non-profit Crossroads GPS, which was founded by Republican strategist Karl Rove, a longtime friend of Mr. Adelson, according to Republican fundraisers.
The article was prompted by recent revelations that Mr. Adelson donated $10 million – the largest amount single donation so far – to a super PAC supporting Mitt Romney.
Adelson is credited for single-handedly keeping Newt Gingrich's presidential campaign afloat (for a while, at least), and he has long been pressured by Republican fundraisers to support Mr. Romney. Thanks to Citizens United, one very wealthy individual has the power to donate unlimited amounts to super PACS that are unaccountable to the public. And, as is the case with special interests who try to use their enormous wealth to skew elections, Adelson would prefer to keep his activities a secret so no one even knows who's buying the race. Thanks to Citizens United, he can do exactly that.
A new report by the Corporate Reform Coalition released this morning grades each state's response to the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United, the flawed decision that opened the floodgates to unlimited, undisclosed spending by corporations and special interests to influence our elections. The decision forced 22 states to reexamine their laws on the books that limited such expenditures.
The report, "Sunlight State By State After Citizens United," examines how many states either repealed their corporate expenditure bans or declared them unenforceable in the wake of Citizens United. Montana is the notable exception, claiming that its law is still valid. That claim will be reviewed by the Supreme Court.
Other states have adopted more creative approaches to ensure that the public is informed about the outsized influence in our elections that corporations try to buy with their vast treasuries. For example, Alaska, California and North Carolina require the disclosure of the top contributors to political ads, and Iowa requires that shareholders be directly informed of corporate political spending.
The Corporate Reform Coalition, which is composed of more than 75 good-government groups seeking to combat undisclosed money in elections, evaluated each state's response to the Citizens United decision by scoring disclosure requirements related to political spending. While only a constitutional amendment to reverse the Court's decision can undo the damage of Citizens United, disclosure requirements are an important step toward a more transparent democracy.
AK, CA, CO, HI IA, IL, MA, NC, SD, VT, WA, WI and WV all received the top score. IN, SC, WY, NY and ND received the lowest scores.
You can read the report here.
One of the last acts of Justice John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court bench that he sat on for nearly thirty-five years was to read a summary of his scathing dissent of the Citizens United v. FEC decision, aloud, stating repeatedly, in one form or another that corporations "are not themselves members of 'We the People' by whom and for whom our Constitution was established." Unfortunately, this view, which the vast majority of Americans agree with, and which seems so self-evident, was not held by the majority of the court.
To read the decision aloud was noteworthy; justices typically do so on cases they believe have special merit. And Justice Stevens correctly understood then that Citizens United was just that.
Over two years later, as the effects of Citizens United take hold, as corporate and special interest spending flood the 2012 elections and overwhelm the political process, Justice Stevens revisited the topic at the University of Arkansas' Clinton Schools of Public Service. As reported by the Huffington Post, Justice Stevens took to the lectern Wednesday to address the inherent legal contradictions that are still outstanding under Justice Kennedy's lead opinion.
Stevens alluded to President Obama's apprehension, voiced in his 2010 State of the Union Speech, that the decision would "open the floodgates to special interests -- including foreign corporations -- to spend without limit in our elections." Stevens stated (emphasis added):
… the former professor of constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School [President Obama] made three important and accurate observations about the Supreme Court majority's opinion …
… third, the logic of the opinion extends to money spent by foreign entities. That is so because the Court placed such heavy emphasis on the premise that the First Amendment generally prohibits the suppression of political speech based on the speaker's identity. Indeed, the opinion expressly stated, "We find no basis for the proposition that, in the context of political speech, the Government may impose restrictions on certain disfavored speakers."
Justice Stevens is correct that the logic of the Court's opinion in Citizens United extends to permitting foreign corporations to make independent expenditures to influence U.S. elections. As he pointed out in his Citizens United dissent, the majority opinion's failure to take on the issue of foreign corporate spending when striking down portions of the McCain-Feingold Act is a glaring omission, one that exposes the logical flaws in Kennedy's argument. And as more cases like Bluman v. FEC arise – in which foreign nationals sought, and were denied the right to make electoral contributions and expenditures – the court will need to further clarify its position on why domestic corporations, and not other "speakers" have the right "to speak." On the subject, Stevens reasoned:
… in due course it will be necessary for the Court to issue an opinion explicitly crafting an exception that will create a crack in the foundation of the Citizens United majority opinion. For [Justice Alito's] statement that it is "not true" that foreign entities will be among the beneficiaries of Citizens United offers good reason to predict there will not be five votes for such a result when a case arises that requires the Court to address the issue in a full opinion. And, if so, the Court must then explain its abandonment of, or at least qualify its reliance upon, the proposition that the identity of the speaker is an impermissible basis for regulating campaign speech. It will be necessary to' explain why the First Amendment provides greater protection to the campaign speech of some non-voters than to that of other non-voters.
It is very possible that a plethora of cases like Bluman v. FEC will reach the district courts. And it's very possible that the lower courts will begin to poke so many holes in the Citizens United rationale that the Supreme Court will have no choice but to revisit the case.
In total, the candidates in the 2008 presidential election spent just over $1 billion on their campaigns. Just four years ago, President Obama raised $750 million, primarily via small donations from grassroots supporters. But the landscape looks pretty different in 2012: that amount will be surpassed by just a handful of GOP patrons and super PACs alone.
Made possible by the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United, dark money organizations like Restore Our Future and American Crossroads will raise and spend virtually unlimited amounts to prop up Mitt Romney and the rest of the Republican ticket. Politico notes that American Crossroads and the affiliated Crossroads GPS, a Karl Rove brainchild, is expected to spend up to $300 million. That's almost as much as John McCain spent on his entire 2008 run.
The bulk of campaign expenditures go to advertising – and $1 billion certainly buys a lot of airtime. Thanks to Citizens United, this elite group of financiers can buy the loudest, most far-reaching voice in the 2012 elections. The amount collected by Super PACs and 501 c(4)s dramatically dwarfs traditional party and direct-campaign fundraising, which is the mechanism by which the grassroots are able to contribute to the process. The contrast is stark:
Restore Our Future, the pro-Romney super PAC, spent twice as much on the air as the campaign did in the thick of the primaries: Through March, the campaign had put $16.7 million into TV, while ROF shelled out $33.2 million.
In Florida, the super PAC outspent the campaign, $8.8 million to $6.7 million. (The campaign can get more spots per dollar because of more favorable rates.) In Michigan, it was $2.3 million to $1.5 million. In Ohio, ROF outspent the campaign, $2.3 million to $1.5 million.
The Citizens United decision has granted the 0.01% more leeway to try to buy our democracy than ever before. The sheer numbers make the need for constitutional remedies to overturn that decision and restore the balance of influence in our elections to everyday Americans is more apparent than ever.
If there was any question that the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United skews the balance of influence in our elections to the rich, an analysis by Rolling Stone shows that the real beneficiaries of the decision are really the very very rich. This profile of the 16 donors who have given at least $1 million to super PACs supporting Mitt Romney, including hedge fund managers, hotel tycoons, oil barons and of course, William Koch, reveals who is making the biggest impact in the presidential election.
In a democracy, we should be electing those who represent vast swaths of the American people. But one thing is clear: the special interests propping up Romney's campaign have very little in common with average Americans. As Rolling Stone notes:
Most of the megadonors backing his candidacy are elderly billionaires: Their median age is 66, and their median wealth is $1 billion. Each is looking for a payoff that will benefit his business interests, and they will all profit from Romney's pledge to eliminate inheritance taxes, extend the Bush tax cuts for the superwealthy – and then slash the top tax rate by another 20 percent. Romney has firmly joined the ranks of the economic nutcases who spout the lie of trickle-down economics.
How are these individuals able to throw so much of their wealth into the race? Essentially, Citizens United allows individuals and corporations to skirt the caps on contributions to campaign treasuries by funneling money through entities like Super PACs and 501c4 organizations:
Under the new rules, the richest men in America are plying candidates with donations far beyond what Congress intended. "They can still give the maximum $2,500 directly to the campaign – and then turn around and give $25 million to the Super PAC," says Trevor Potter, general counsel of the Campaign Legal Center. A single patron can now prop up an entire candidacy, as casino magnate Sheldon Adelson did with a $20 million donation to the Super PAC backing Newt Gingrich.
It's unlikely that these donors are throwing so much money into the race solely for bragging rights – they certainly have agendas of their own. Most of the individuals profiled in the article stand to benefit from Romney agenda: more tax cuts to the rich, lax regulation of Wall Street and other industries, a hamstrung E.P.A, lucrative government contracts – and their outsized contributions demonstrate their belief that money buys influence. Citizens United exacerbated this unfortunate reality. At least that can be fixed by the people, with an amendment to the Constitution.
On Capitol Hill yesterday, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jeff Merkely (D-OR), Tom Udall (D-NM) and others took to the floor to speak about the state of campaign finance today, thanks to the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United. Although the only way to completely fix the decision would be for the Supreme Court to reverse itself or to pass a Constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United, the DISCLOSE Act of 2012 ("Disclose 2.0") is critically important legislation that would bring much-needed transparency to the political process.
Sen. Whitehouse began by analyzing the dramatic increase in unregulated, anonymous spending in our elections. "In the 2010 elections, the first after Citizens United, there was more than a four-fold increase in expenditures from Super PACS and other outside groups compared to 2006, with nearly three-fourths of political advertising coming from sources that were prohibited in 2006." He noted that outside groups are vastly outspending the campaigns themselves – yet there is so much overlap between campaigns and PACs that their differences are hard to distinguish.
"Our campaign finance system is broken. Action is required to fix it," Sen. Whitehouse said. "Americans are disgusted by campaigns that succeed or fail based on how many billionaires the candidates have in their pockets."
Senator Udall made the case that amending the Constitution to ensure that elections remain about the quality of ideas instead of the quantity of dollars spent is a worthy cause: "We cannot truly fix this broken system until we undo the flawed premise that spending money on elections is the same thing as exercising free speech. That can only be achieved in two ways: the Court can overturn Buckley and subsequent decisions based on it, something the current court seems highly unlikely to do; or we can amend the Constitution to not only overturn the previous bad Court decision, but also to prevent future ones. Until then, we will fall short of the real reform that is needed."
"I know amending the Constitution is difficult, and it should be," continued Sen. Udall, who then quoted PFAW Senior Fellow Jamie Raskin: "'A constitutional amendment always seems impossible, until it becomes inevitable.'" Sen. Udall also noted the growing grassroots movement that has led to more than 200 state and local resolutions calling for a Constitutional amendment that have been adopted around the country.
Senator Jeff Merkley engaged in a colloquy with Senator Whitehouse, focusing on the first three words of the preamble to the Constitution, "We the People." The senators discussed the fundamental conflict with that fundamental value posed by the Citizens United decision. Watch below:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce plans to take full advantage of the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision to push its right-wing agenda, according to its president, Tom Donohue. As reported by USA Today, Donohue told reporters at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor earlier this week that under that decision, the Chamber can and will run "an aggressive program" and will not disclose its donors.
Donohue also suggested that estimates that the business group would spend $50 million on the 2012 elect were too low. Thanks to Citizens United, individuals, corporations and organizations like the Chamber of Commerce can make unlimited, often anonymous expenditures on ads supporting or attacking candidates. Until that decision is overturned, disclosure rules would at least shed light on the process and give Americans insight into who is using their wealth to disproportionately influence elections.
But that's not how Donohue sees it: "The disclosure thing…is all about intimidation." While requiring disclosure might makes sense on the surface, he said, "in this instance you become a target."
Americans deserve to know who's trying to buy their elections. Even far-right Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia knows that "Democracy requires a certain amount of civic courage." Donohue's demand that corporate entities be allowed to pour money into elections without having to show their faces makes his agenda perfectly clear: it's not about democracy or free speech, it's about maximizing corporate profits by any means necessary.
As the Supreme Court decides whether or not to hear a challenge to Montana's prohibition on corporate independent expenditures to affect state elections, Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) urged the court to let the Montana law stand, according to a report in Roll Call. Since that decision was handed down, super PACs have spent close to $100 million in this election. It's time to take another look at the system and restore the balance of power to the people.
In the wake of Citizens United, the 2010 Supreme Court decision that opened the floodgates to unprecedented, unlimited corporate spending on politics, municipalities across the country have enacted resolutions calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn the decision. Passed before the Supreme Court's decision, Montana has refused to stop enforcing its clean elections laws. Three corporations have filed a challenge, claiming the law is invalid under the Court's ruling.
The Court can and should use this case as a means to full re-examine the Citizens United decision. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg acknowledged that the case presents the Court with an opportunity to re-examine the Citizens United case. "A petition for certiorari will give the court an opportunity to consider whether, in light of the huge sums currently deployed to buy candidates' allegiance, Citizens United should continue to hold sway," Justices Ginsburg, joined by Justice Stephen Breyer, wrote in a statement.
Senator McCain is a longstanding proponent of campaign finance reform, and Senator Whitehouse is a supporter of a constitutional remedies to overturn Citizens United. Together they filed an amicus brief, echoing the justices' concerns: "Evidence from the 2010 and 2012 electoral cycles has demonstrated that so-called independent expenditures create a strong potential for corruption and the appearance thereof. The news confirms, daily, that existing campaign finance rules purporting to provide for 'independence' and 'disclosure' in fact provide neither." Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock and others also filed briefs urging the Court to either let the Montana ban stand or re-examine the Citizens United Ruling. A decision as to whether to hear the case is expected by June.
The Supreme Court was wrong when it decided that corporations should be able spend their vast treasuries on elections. The State of Montana is providing a welcome chance to fix that mistake.


text:
October 02, 2013
Perfect for my little cousin with a shark fettish. love it.
October 22, 2013
My grandchildren love the hats
November 05, 2013
Very warm and ties so child can't pull off easily
December 13, 2013
Stylish hat but practical too
December 16, 2013
So original and one that kids will love. i did too. i'm returning to get another!
This does not affect your statutory rights
For full terms and conditions please see our Delivery & Returns policy
Thank you for signing up with Mountain Warehouse. So that you only receive information that you're interested in, it would be great if you could take a few moments to fill out the details below:
1. What are you interested in? (Select all that apply)
2. What age are you?
3. Are you?
4. If you would like to receive our seasonal catalogue by post, please enter your postal address:
Copyright © 2015 Mountain Warehouse Ltd - Company Registration No: 3417738 VAT Registered: GB 796 3471 82

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Newegg.com - A great place to buy computers, computer parts, electronics, software, accessories, and DVDs online. With great prices, fast shipping, and top-rated customer service - once you know, you Newegg.
If you are reading this message, Please click this link to reload this page.(Do not use your browser's "Refresh" button). Please email us if you're running the latest version of your browser and you still see this message.
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, Laptops, Electronics, HDTVs, Digital Cameras and More!
Showing Results: Most Recent
This review is from: BYTECC HM14-6K 6 ft. Black HDMI male to HDMI male HDMI High Speed Male to Male Cable with Ethernet M-M
Pros: It works.
Cons: none!READ FULL REVIEW
This review is from: Logitech K800 Black USB RF Wireless Slim Illuminated Keyboard
Pros: Love the overall look and feel of the keyboard. Typing on this board feels natural and quiet. Back lit keys are awesome for working in the dark. Battery life is good.
Cons: The only con I can think of is that the entire bottom & top row of keys (Ctrl, Window key, Alt, Space, F1-F12, etc.) are convex whereas the rest of the keyboard is concave. I use the Ctrl key a lot for shortcuts when working in the Adobe Suite and I find it very uncomfortable to use. -1 Egg
Other Thoughts: Overall a great keyboard. I wish all of the keys were concave but other than that no complaints.READ FULL REVIEW
Display Name: Dalan H.
Date Joined: 06/30/10
Some manufacturers place restrictions on how details of their products may be communicated.


text:
if your car supports bluetooth,for best quality use a 3.5mm jack.......bluetooth to me I don't think the quality will be that good,I may be wrong.
XDA Developers was founded by developers, for developers. It is now a valuable resource for people who want to make the most of their mobile devices, from customizing the look and feel to adding new functionality.
Are you a developer?
Copyright © xda-developers. Hosted by Leaseweb


text:
Microsoft's Surface Pro tablet is expected to be available in US starting February 9, 2013. It will come with Windows 8 Pro on-board and will be available in 64GB and 128GB storage options.
According to report by The Verge, a Microsoft spokesperson has confirmed that this tablet will come with a smaller amount of storage space than expected. The website has shared that 64GB version of Microsoft Surface Pro will have only 23GB of user accessible storage. While the 128GB variant of Surface Pro will have 83GB of free storage.
Apparently 41GB space in the Surface Pro model is being taken up by Windows 8 install, built-in apps, and a recovery partition.
Microsoft Surface Pro 64GB will be available for $899 sans the keyboard cover and the 128GB one will be available for $999.
Just to recap, Microsoft Surface and Surface Pro tablets sport a 10.6-inch screen with a resolution of 1366x768 pixels. Microsoft Surface RT comes with quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor with 2GB of RAM. While, Microsoft Surface Pro will come with Intel Core i5 Processor with 4GB of RAM.
It is noteworthy, that Microsoft has received a lot of criticism for not providing the advertised space in the Surface Tablet. The company had posted on their website that the 32GB version of their Surface tablet has 16GB of free space while the 64 GB version has 45 GB free.
The consumers were expecting things to be a bit different with the Surface Pro as it was coming four months after Microsoft's first tablet. However, it now seems that not much has changed in terms of free storage.
Microsoft will be competing with Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (aka Galaxy Note 800), Samsung Google Nexus and Apple iPad. Apple has recently launched the 128GB variant of its new iPad.
Popular Right Now
How to Activate WhatsApp Calling
How to Make a Bootable USB Disk for Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows XP
Xiaomi Mi 4, Redmi Note 4G Now Available via Retail Stores
How to Block Any Website On Your Computer, Phone, or Network
Lenovo K3 Note With 4G LTE Support, 5.5-Inch Display Launched
How to Use Your Laptop as a Wi-Fi Hotspot
Honor 4X Review: A 4G Phablet Facing Stiff Competition
More Tablets »


text:
Why it should be done ... brain activity, which causes people to have seizures, known as epileptic fits. Epileptic fits occur when the nerve cells in you ... » Read on
Recommendation In most cases, when someone has an epileptic fit, medical help is not needed. However, you should c ... » Read on


text:
King's Rest Motel
Situated in Gilroy, King's Rest Motel is close to Las Animas Park, Gilroy Premium Outlets, and Eagle Ridge Golf Club. Also nearby is Gilroy Golf Course.
Property Features.
Complimentary wireless and wired high-speed Internet access is available in public areas. Complimentary self parking is available onsite for guests. This is a smoke-free property.
The 24 guestrooms at King's Rest Motel include air conditioning. Guests can use the in-room complimentary wireless and wired high-speed Internet access. 32-inch flat-screen TVs are equipped with cable channels. All accommodations provide desks and phones; free local calls are offered (restrictions may apply). Housekeeping is offered daily.
very budget motel. rooms looked clean but carpet felt unclean. I stayed two nights as the…
First hotel I ever been that charged for an ice. The air conditioner seen the dinosaurs…
Enter dates to check prices
Hotel Info: 866-539-8117from $79
- Standard Double Room, 2 Double Beds
- Standard Room, 1 Queen Bed
Recommended hotels
At a glance
Key facts
Hotel size
- This hotel has 24 rooms
- This hotel is arranged over 1 floor
- 24-hour check-in
- Check-out time is 11 AM
Required at check in
- Credit card or cash deposit required
- Government-issued photo ID required
Travelling with others
- No cribs (infant beds)
- Pets not allowed (service dogs only)
- Free WiFi and wired Internet access in public areas
- Free WiFi and wired Internet access in rooms
- Free self parking
Other information
- Smoke-free property
In the hotel
- Front desk (limited hours)
- Accessible path of travel
In the room
- Climate control
- Air conditioning
- Shower only
- 32-inch flat-screen TV
- Cable TV channels
- Desk
- Free WiFi
- Free local calls
- Refrigerator
- Daily housekeeping
King's Rest Motel's small print
This property does not have elevators.
Mandatory fees
You'll be asked to pay the following charges at check in or check out:
- 2 percent tourism fee will be charged
We have included all charges provided to us by this hotel. However, charges can vary, for example, based on length of stay or the room you book.


text:
Latest Metered-dose inhaler Stories
Markets Research Reports.biz added deep and professional market research reports on "Ovarian Cancer Therapeutics To 2020" analysis and overview. (PRWEB)
New low-energy sensor eliminates charging, while enhanced analytics identify worsening patients MADISON, Wis., May 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- World Asthma Day --
DUBLIN, Apr.
The 47 billion-dollar worldwide respiratory device market continues to grow mainly due to the aging of the world population and increasing incidence of respiratory diseases, according to Kalorama
The drug delivery technology market is segmented on the basis of route of administration into nine categories - oral, pulmonary, transdermal, injectable, ocular, nasal, topical, implantable, and
ALBANY, New York, February 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new market report published by Transparency Market Research "Pulmonary Drug Delivery Systems Market(Products-
VIENNA, Va., Feb. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An over-the-counter (OTC) asthma inhaler up for approval by the U.S.
OXFORD, England, January 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- First clinical data from PSX1002, a novel, orally inhaled, drug-only, pMDI suspension formulation of glycopyrronium
Achieve is conducting a safety and efficacy study on a new combination asthma treatment versus an inhaled treatment for adolescents and adult
Latest Metered-dose inhaler Reference Libraries
Nicotine replacement therapy is the administration of nicotine by other means than smoking. This change in the way nicotine is delivered prevents the harmful effects of smoking and is usually used in smoking cessation. Types Nicotine replacement therapy can be administered in several forms. The type used depends on the patient and what fits into their lifestyle best. The forms available include: Nicotine patches – transdermal (through the skin) Nicotine gum – orally (through the...
- Forsooth! indeed! originally a parenthetical phrase used in repeating the words of another with more or less contempt or disdain.


text:
Attack on Titan swag coming to Phantasy Star Online 2
Phantasy Star Online 2 has gotten some pretty crazy crossovers so far, but this one is probably the coolest. Attack on Titan will be invading PSO 2 in multiple ways, the most obvious of which is new outfit selections.
You'll be able to deck yourself out with Survey Corps outfits, as well as recruit stickers, weapons, Mikasa's hair and scarf, and the Three-Dimensional Maneuver Gear. The best addition though is the appearance of the Colossal Titan, who will "attack" (but not actually attack) the lobby and the background.
Attack on Titan swag coming to Phantasy Star Online 2
12:30 PM on 03.05.2014
Sega shows off how crazy 'Super Hard' mode is in PSO 2
10:45 AM on 10.03.2013
Phantasy Star Online 2 hit with a localization delay
9:00 AM on 03.26.2013
Phantasy Star Online 2 is doing pretty well
11:00 AM on 10.09.2012
TGS: Phantasy Star Online 2 on the Vita is a great fit
3:30 PM on 09.22.2012
Preview: Phantasy Star Online 2
3:00 PM on 07.14.2012
Phantasy Star Online 2 is coming to the west in 2013
10:00 AM on 07.09.2012
Phantasy Star Online 2 is free to play
11:30 AM on 03.27.2012
TGS: Phantasy Star Online 2 still has a way to go
1:30 PM on 09.18.2011
Phantasy Star Online 2 Updates, Screenshots, & Videos
Comments not appearing? Anti-virus apps like Avast or some browser extensions can cause this.
Easy fix: Add
[*].disqus.com to your software's white list. Tada! Happy comments time again.
Did you know? You can now get daily or weekly email notifications when humans reply to your comments.
You have the right to remain sexy with Criminal Girls: Invite Only's latest screens
11:30 PM on 01.23.2015