American democracy was dealt a crippling blow with the U.S. Supreme Court decision on Citizens United v. FEC. The Supreme Court further tilted the playing field in favor of business corporations in public elections. By allowing unlimited corporate treasury expenditures that explicitly support or oppose particular candidates, the Court has increased the already excessive influence that corporations exert in our electoral system.
Despite Chief Justice Robert’s confirmation assurances that he would not be a judicial activist, his court radically departed from precedent in treating the for-profit corporation exactly like individuals in regards to freedom of speech. “The Court’s decision is at war with the views of generations of Americans,” writes Justice Stevens in dissent.
And we [Connecticut AFL-CIO] believe the court wrongly treated corporate expenditures the same as union expenditures, contrary to the arguments we made in our brief in this case.
Unions, unlike businesses, are mandated by law to be democratically controlled. Whereas businesses are for-profit legal constructs that can also be partially or fully owned by foreign corporations, unions, on the other hand, are nonprofit membership organizations representing working men and women across the country. Their independent speech should accordingly be given greater protection.
Unleashing corporate spending in elections threatens to drown out the voices of the American people who should be at the heart of our political process.
If there is anyone who doubts the power of money to influence the political process, they would be persuaded by Sen. John McCain’s Oct. 21 statement on this case in which he describes in detail how “unfettered corporate political spending corrupts the legislative process”.
The senator speaks specifically to how the billions spent lobbying and promoting a political corporate agenda not only diminishes the influence of ordinary citizens but works to their economic disadvantage. The labor movement doesn’t agree with Sen. McCain on most issues, but we do agree with his assessment of how money buys votes and threatens the basic principles of democracy that we all hold dear.
The AFL-CIO supports a system of campaign finance regulation that promotes democratic participation in elections by individuals and their associations; protects legitimate independent speech rights; offers public financing to candidates while firmly regulating contributions to them; and guarantees effective disclosure of who is paying for what.
We, the people, must join together to regain our voice in the political process.
John Olsen, President of the Connecticut AFL-CIO.
