I hope that students receive a more accurate picture of the issue than this
piece.  There are so many flaws with the video, it is tough to know where to
begin.

Actually, I'll start from one of the first lines about the problem with
campaign ads getting worse because of Citizens United.  That's interesting
because there is little to no evidence that the "recent" decision had any
impact on the last election cycle (not to mention, it is unclear what is
wrong with campaign ads).  Further, states across the country already have
allowed corporations to spend money from their general treasuries for
independent expenditures without it creating some crisis in those states.

The issue of a corporation not being a person is a silly argument--we know
this, but that doesn't mean corporations don't have First Amendment rights.
They are "associations" of individuals.

Should newspapers, such as the NYT, be barred from running commentary (they
are corporations and spend money that refer to candidates).  What about book
publishers--should they be scared about publishing a book because it
mentions a political candidate?  Interesting that not once did I hear
anything about unions.

The biggest problem with the video and the most disturbing actions of some
critics of Citizens United is this unwarranted and vicious attack on the
Supreme Court as an institution and the questioning of the justices'
motives.

Daren Bakst, J.D., LL.M.
Director of Legal and Regulatory Studies
John Locke Foundation




On 3/11/11 10:55 AM, "Susan Rogers" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Thanks! this is just what my students need!
>> 
>>> Annie Leonard, creator of Story of Stuff, explains the Corporate
>>> Personhood fiasco that Democracy has gotten itself into
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> <http://storyofstuff.org/citizensunited/>http://storyofstuff.org/citizensuni
>>> ted/
>>> 
>> 
>