February 27, 2012
"Money in politics presents an election integrity issue over which the Court has no power, as was recognized unanimously in Burroughs v. United States, 290 U.S. 534, 547-48 (1934), by the same conservative Court that Roosevelt sought to pack. ("The power of Congress to protect the election of President and Vice President from corruption being clear, the choice of means to that end presents a question primarily addressed to the judgment of Congress.") No Court prior to the Nixon Court in 1976, however conservatively plutocratic, thought the question of money in politics raised a First Amendment free speech issue, or that the Court could interfere in elections so as to compromise their integrity on the bizarre theory that special interest money in politicians' pockets, any more than a pimp's procurement pitch on a street corner or an inside trading tip in a boardroom, somehow has the same status as political speech on the tongues of citizens.
The fundamental question is whether five unelected judges or the representatives of the people in Congress should decide if the "money is speech" metaphor provides a legitimate basis for conducting elections and overthrowing election integrity laws. Is it not the people who should decide through their elected representatives whether this surreal metaphor is merely an illegitimate excuse by judges indebted to plutocrats for their positions to intrude upon Congress' exclusive powers over elections in order to snatch sovereignty from the hands of the people as Justice Powell planned?" http://www.opednews.com/articles/5/Reversing-Citizens-United-by-Larry-Kachimba-120112-189.html
I am deeply concerned about the influence of corporate money on our electoral process.
In particular, I am appalled that, because of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, publicly traded corporations can spend investor’s money on political activity in secret.
I am writing to urge the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue a rule requiring publicly traded corporations to publicly disclose all their political spending.
Both shareholders and the public must be fully informed as to how much the corporation spends on politics and which candidates are being promoted or attacked. Disclosures should be posted promptly on the SEC’s web site.
Thank you for considering my comment.
Zachary Brugman