Thursday, February 25, 2016

NY Times Embraces Citizens United

Eli,

The NY Times in "Donald Trump Keeps Winning. Here’s What Could Make Him Lose." suggests some ways to stop Donald Trump (the bloviating ignoramus). First on their list is unlimited spending by the millionaires and billionaires running the Republican party.

Top Republican donors have shied away from confronting Mr. Trump, but at some point the party’s bankrollers may get serious about saving it from a man they view as a catastrophe. If they did, this could represent a serious threat to Mr. Trump. Imagine tens of millions of dollars in attack ads blanketing the landscape of primary states.
Marvelous, the Times seems to never stop writing about the evils of the Citizens United ruling that allows corporations other than media companies from engaging in free speech. Or as The Center for Public Integrity puts it

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 court’s 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.”
But I guess embracing existential threats to democracy (Citizens United) is OK under special circumstances. Can't wait for Bernie (the socialist) and Mrs. Clinton (the felon) to embrace this strategy.

Bill


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