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Reversing Citizens United

Join the call for an amendment to the US Constitution to ensure the government has the authority to limit corporate influence in elections.

Peter Rothberg

January 24, 2011

Just more than one year ago, the US Supreme Court overturned long-term precedent in perhaps the most controversial court opinion since Row v. Wade in 1973.

My boss Katrina vanden Heuvel neatly summed up the momentous consequences: "The decision in the Citizens United case overturned more than a century’s worth of precedent by awarding corporations the rights of citizens with regard to electioneering. The court did away with limits on when corporations can spend on elections, how much they can spend and how they can spend their money, allowing unlimited contributions from corporate treasuries to flood the electoral landscape."

This new video from People for the American Way explains how Citizens United v. FEC reversed more than 100 years of settled law, gave corporations the same First Amendment rights as people and threatens the very foundations of US electoral democracy.

Nearly a year after the Citizens United decision, polls consistently show that the vast, bipartisan majority of the American public believes two things: that the case was wrongly decided, and that it should be remedied legislatively, and, if necessary, through a constitutional amendment.

Join the call for an amendment to the US Constitution to ensure the government has the authority to limit corporate influence in elections.

Peter RothbergTwitterPeter Rothberg is the The Nation’s associate publisher.


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