Most Libertarians, Democrats, Tea Party activists and some Republicans agree that the rich should not be able to buy elections. For the first time, nonprofits, corporations and unions are legally spending billions for political ads. The "Citizens United" Supreme Court decision, 2010, eviscerated campaign reform laws and earlier United States Supreme Court decisions by stating that corporations, nonprofits and unions have the same free-speech rights as people. As a person, I have free speech. After Citizens United, if I were rich, I could give unlimited amounts of money to organizations which can hide my identity. In his minority opinion, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote, "A democracy cannot function effectively when its constituent members believe laws are being bought and sold." Before voting Nov. 6, 2012, I want to know whether President Obama or Gov. Romney would more likely appoint justices who believe people have greater free speech rights than corporations. This chart shows which Supreme Court justices voted for the main part of the Citizens United Decision and which voted against it. The chart reports which president appointed each justice (R = Republican; D = Democrat). The chart indicates that Barack Obama is more likely than Mitt Romney to appoint justices who believe that people have broader rights to free speech than corporations. Amy Bollenbach
Justices for Citizens United President Party Date Anthony Kennedy Ronald Reagan R 1988 John Roberts, Chief George W Bush R 2005 Clarence Thomas George HW Bush R 1991 Antonin Scalia Ronald Reagan R 1986 Samuel Alito George W Bush R 2006 Justices against Citizens United
John Paul Stevens Gerald Ford R 1975 Ruth Bader Ginsburg Bill Clinton D 1993 Stephen Breyer Bill Clinton D 1994 Sonia Sotomayor Barack Obama D 2009
Homer Alaska - Letters
Story last updated at
6:12 PM on
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Presidents and the Supreme Court
