The Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission got it wrong. Quite seriously wrong. I have a law degree, but my objection to this ruling isn't based on some tremendous erudition as it relates to constitutional law. No, my objections are more basic and common sense.
The Court's decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission enhances the concept of the corporation as a "person" with First Amendment rights which must be respected, meaning that corporate entities may not have limitations placed on their political "speech". Corporations are free to spend any amount of money to advance their interests via political speech in elections and within our political discourse in general. This is an expansion of the "personhood" of corporations.
This is a terrible decision and clearly puts the lie to the oft touted conservative approach to the law this group of conservative justices is supposed to have. This is an activist decision.. A corporation is a person entitled to unfettered political speech to support or defeat candidates in elections in the furtherance of their corporate interests? There is a disconnect here. These corporate "persons' can't actually vote in an election. They can't be sent to fight and die to defend these expanded "personhood" rights the Court has now conferred on them. Only flesh and blood persons can do those things. That seems to me a more than adequate rationale to justify restricting the First Amendment rights of corporations, to support censoring them in any fashion which society deems appropriate.
I am a human being, endowed by my Creator with certain inalienable rights. Human beings create corporations. They are a product of us, subservient to us, as we are subservient to our Creator. But the Supreme Court has now elevated the political speech of these artificial entities and declared that speech to have value and merit equal to that of flesh and blood human beings. It"s ridiculous. Why stop there I wonder? Why not simply grant corporations the franchise? Is not the vote speech? The Court has taken the concept of the "personhood" of corporations and expanded it in an absurd manner.
Were I to remake the world to my liking, only flesh and blood, living human beings would be permitted to donate money to a campaign. If you can't vote in an election, or can't fight and die for your country, because you're not human, then I don't think you have any business contributing to candidates or backing issues in elections.
The Supreme Court missed in a very fundamental way a basic truth about our nation's founding. The First Amendment, indeed the entire Constitution, is a document written for human beings, not our artificial constructs. The First Amendment is for people.
