A VOICE REPORTER WISH LIST FOR 2012: EXTINGUISH CORPORATE PERSONHOOD

CORPORATE PERSONHOOD THREATENS DEMOCRACY: AMEND IT
photo: Bess Watts/Voice Reporter

Rochester, N.Y.-- Jan. 21, 2012 will be the second anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Citizens United vs. FEC, which infamously granted First Amendment rights to corporations, allowing them unfettered access when it comes to financing elections.

President Obama stated that the decision "gives the special interests and their lobbyists even more power in Washington — while undermining the influence of average Americans who make small contributions to support their preferred candidates." Obama later elaborated by saying, "this ruling strikes at our democracy itself" and "I can't think of anything more devastating to the public interest."

We at the Voice Reporter continue to believe that our political system is awash in money and needs reform. With the advent of such civil unrest and the Occupy movements dominating the national narrative, the public is increasingly more aware of the immediate threat to democracy under this horrible ruling.

We believe that the court has, in effect, legalized foreign governments and foreign corporations to participate in our electoral politics.

Our campaign finance reform wish list

After review of several proposals that already have been filed in Congress to address the way elections are funded, we came up with a few that highlight our wish list to be enacted for 2012. They include:

*A measure stating that corporations do not have the same constitutional rights as persons. This Senate measure is sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and is similar to a House measure called OCCUPIED – the Outlawing Corporate Cash Undermining the Public Interest in our Elections and Democracy Amendment. That proposal is sponsored by Rep. Deutch, a Florida Democrat.

The Constitution of this country has served us well, but when the Supreme Court says that attempts by the federal government and states to impose reasonable restrictions on campaign ads are unconstitutional, our democracy is in grave danger. Consequently, we at the Voice Reporter are delighted that Sen. Sanders recently introduced a resolution in the Senate calling for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

*A measure to publicly finance Senate campaigns. Pending in both House and Senate committees, this measure has 13 Senate cosponsors and 79 House cosponsors.

*A measure that would require publicly held companies to inform shareholders before making political donations. This measure has nine cosponsors in the Senate and 47 cosponsors in the House.

*A measure that would clarify the authority of Congress to regulate and restrict the political activity of corporations of any sort, including contributions in support or in opposition to a candidate for public office. This House measure, sponsored by Rep. Donna Edwards, a Maryland Democrat, has 27 cosponsors.

*A measure to directly reverse the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United. This resolution has eight cosponsors in the House and 18 cosponsors in the Senate.

These bills are just a start and the language of some of these efforts need improvement. However, we feel that if the labor movement and our coalition partners focus it's collective energy on these proposals, it will be a fight worth the investment and pay dividends to working families down the road.

-The opinion expressed here reflects the views of the Voice Reporter only and does not represent CSEA as an organization.