The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for January 20, 2023
It’s the 13th Anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United Decision. What is Citizens United and Why Should You Care?
Today’s Links
Articles & Resources:
Brennan Center for Justice – Citizens United Explained
Open Secrets – Everything you need to know about Citizens United
Federal Elections Commission – Citizens United v. FEC
Campaign Legal Center – How Does the Citizens United Decision Still Affect Us in 2022?
Groups Taking Action:
American Promise, End Citizens United, Common Cause, Issue One, Declaration for American Democracy
Today’s Script: (Variations occur with audio due to editing for time)
You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.
January 21st is the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, one of the most consequential decisions about how elections are funded. What is it, and why should YOU care about it?
In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court decided for a conservative group called Citizens United which challenged the Federal Election Campaign Act. These rules prevented corporations and unions from “electioneering communications,” like running TV ads for or against a Presidential candidate, or in this case, a documentary.
The court’s opinion held that corporations could not be prevented from spending their funds in elections because it would interfere with their right to free speech. This allowed corporations to vastly increase spending, an estimated $16.7 Billion dollars in 2022 midterm. Most is spent on the endless positive and negative TV ads you see during a campaign, using SuperPACs to obscure their identities.
While federal rules say this spending is not supposed to be coordinated with the candidate’s campaign, political consultants have concocted ways of flouting those regulations, usually without sanction from the FEC.
Democracy advocates say Citizens United gave megaphones to corporations which can shout speech over ordinary citizens, increasing influence by special interests over elected officials. Those officials then make decisions which are contrary to the best interests of the citizens they are supposed to serve.
We have articles and groups taking action, at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl.