Tea Time

Finally, an issue that can unite conservatives and liberals. The SCOTUS ruling in Citizens United has opened the flood gates for corporate money to replace the votes of American citizens. It’s past time that we take measures to defend our freedoms against corporate greed. We all know how, up to now, corporations have bought and sold laws and politicians. The Court has just made that practice legal. Every liberal blog has cried “foul” at the top of their lungs. Conservatives, as the voice of the corporations, are forced by creed to give at least some praise to the ruling, but in private, even some Republicans are nervous. And why not? If corporations are allowed to use unlimited amounts of money from their treasuries, what need do they have for political parties or interest groups?

The notion that corporations are the same as any other association of citizens is simply not true. Corporations are a creation of government. They must act according to a state-approved charter. Corporations are given certain advantages by government over citizens such as limited liability. Just the existence of a corporation is a privilege granted by government. Corporations are not by default, citizens of this country. A corporation may be a citizen of many countries, some of which could have agendas that are antagonistic to the U.S. Allowing corporations to have undue influence on American policy could allow for influence by foreign powers and businesses.

Barack Obama was elected mostly by an outpouring of small donor contributions. That would not be possible under last weeks ruling if he had been forced to fight unlimited cash from corporate donors. Flesh-and-blood donors are limited by law to donations of only $2,300. In 2008, the largest 100 corporations made $605 billion in profit. Donation of just 1% of that amount would more than double all current political spending on federal races. Half of the states have laws against corporate political donations. Those laws can now be overturned if challenged by corporate interests. Those interests have already promised to do so in Montana.

The hue and cry over the ruling is currently coming mostly from the left. Organizations like Free Speech for People and Move to Amend are proposing constitutional amendments to reject the Supreme Court ruling and establish that only persons, and not corporations are entitled to constitutional rights. Joshua Holland suggests a “Defense of Human Citizenship Amendment“. After all, the Boston Tea Party was a reaction to corporate control of the British Government. The British Parliament gave special tax breaks and government protections to the East India Company that disadvantaged colonial companies. In response, colonists dumped hundreds of crates of subsidized tea into Boston Harbor. It’s time for us to take similar action.

Democrats have never been very good at organizing and especially at staying organized, but there is a lot we can learn from conservatives. Republicans have taken such unlikely issues as flag burning and gay marriage and turned them into national rallying cries. Surely we can do at least as much with this more important issue. The Court was wrong and we need to say so, loudly and often. To be effective we must be prepared to organize over the long term. It won’t be an easy, or quick, fight. Even if the current proposals never become law, this is our chance to put the issue of corporate personhood before the American people. It is our chance to decry “judicial activism” and educate the electorate about real dangers to our freedoms. We need to excite people the same way conservative activists constantly do. Our cry has to be repeated again and again before it will take hold. Most people are with us. People believe that corporations hold too much sway over their lives, but they don’t really see any avenue to fight against that influence. We must give them those avenues. We can choose to be a nation of consumers or a nation of citizens. The choice is ours and the choice is now.

“Don’t mourn, organize.”, Joe Hill