Sens. Udall, Bennet propose amendment to overturn Citizens United ruling

[babsbunny]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/11/01/sens-udall-bennet-propose-bill-to-overturn-citizens-united-ruling/

By Eric W. Dolan
Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Democratic Sens. Tom Udall of New Mexico and Michael Bennet of Colorado introduced a constitutional amendment on Tuesday that would overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

The decision gave corporations and unions the ability to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections, so long as their actions are not coordinated with a candidate’s campaign.

“As we head into another election year, we are about to see unprecedented amounts of money spent on efforts to influence the outcome of our elections,” Udall said. “With the Supreme Court striking down the sensible regulations Congress has passed, the only way to address the root cause of this problem is to give Congress clear authority to regulate the campaign finance system.”

[otohara]

1. Oh Boy, This Is Going to Get Interesting

Drawing the lines, I love it!

[skepticscott]

2. At least this article, for a change

actually provided an accurate description of what the Citizen's United decision was about. But it's not as if this is anything but political grandstanding. No such amendment will ever get passed, and certainly not in time for any election in the near future.

And I'd be willing to bet that if Udall or Bennet needed to spend "unprecedented amounts of money" to win their own elections, they wouldn't have any qualms about it.

[Swede Atlanta]

3. Not going anywhere....

The Repukkkes will not let this see the light of day. Their corporate masters dictate that they and only they can influence elections. There is no doubt that without a groundswell from the states (now majority controlled by pukes), this has no chance of even being considered.

[Nye Bevan]

4. I read the article but don't understand how

the proposed amendment would "overturn Citizens United".

The proposed amendment would grant Congress and the states the authority to regulate the campaign finance system, but would not dictate any specific policies or regulations.

My understanding is that Citizens United is not about "campaign finance" as such but affects spending by independent groups.