President Obama is lining up behind the people and the rightwing is being the rightwing. This is a debate Sen. Russ Feingold and President Obama have dreamed about.
From the journal, Politico: White House: Obama is right about Supreme Court:
A senior administration official told POLITICO on Thursday morning: ‘There is a loophole that we need to address and are working with Congress to address. There are U.S. subsidiaries of foreign-controlled corporations that could influence our elections because of this ruling.’
The issue was raised by Justice John Paul Stevens in his dissent in the case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission: ‘It would appear to afford the same protection to multinational corporations controlled by foreigners as to individual Americans.’
Stevens continued: ‘The Court all but confesses that a categorical approach to speaker identity is untenable when it acknowledges that Congress might be allowed to take measures aimed at preventing foreign individuals or associations from influencing our Nation’s political process. … Such measures have been a part of U.S. campaign finance law for many years. The notion that Congress might lack the authority to distinguish foreigners from citizens in the regulation of electioneering would certainly have surprised the Framers.’
And on Page 75, Stevens wrote: ‘Unlike voters in U.S. elections, corporations may be foreign controlled.’
See also Obama Slams Court, Hails Russ Feingold's Work.
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