Six years after Citizens United — the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that says corporations and unions have a First Amendment right to unlimited campaign spending — presidential candidates across the spectrum have condemned the campaign finance system it shaped.
“Corrupt,” says Bernie Sanders. “Pernicious,” says Hillary Clinton. “A broken system,” says Donald Trump.
The issue is getting extra attention in California because of Proposition 59, which asks if voters want the state’s elected officials to take steps to try to reverse Citizens United and related cases. It’s an attempt to rein in the influence of lucrative super PACs on elections.
But undoing Citizens United would require either amending the U.S. Constitution or a lawsuit that causes the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse itself. As an advisory measure, Proposition 59 is essentially an opinion poll that lacks authority to directly change the law.
Yet there is a certain irony in asking Californians to rebuke the nation’s approach to funding political campaigns. The very system allowed by Citizens United — in which corporations and unions spend unlimited amounts on independent advertising campaigns — has been accepted for much longer here in the Golden State.
Source: San Jose Mercury News
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