<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 TRANSITIONAL//EN">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; CHARSET=UTF-8">
<META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="GtkHTML/4.1.92">
</HEAD>
<BODY>
Other Voices article for the Milpitas Post<BR>
<BR>
Corporations are NOT people. Money is NOT speech. So says the popular movement working for a Constitutional Amendment that rescinds the 5-4 Supreme Court ruling in the 2010 Citizens United case.<BR>
<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">These concepts – that corporations have inherent Constitution rights and that money is a form of speech – are completely made up by the Court. Created from nothing but their own lawyerly thinking. No such doctrine has ever been passed by state or federal legislatures nor signed by any governor or president. To the contrary, throughout our country's history legislatures have passed laws limiting corporate involvement in politics. As Americans, we enjoyed a hundred years of legal jurisprudence in most states forbidding corporate expenditures. Corporations could be dissolved and their executives imprisoned for spending money in any way to influence an election. Things have really changed, and Supreme Court decisions caused that change.</FONT><BR>
<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">Here is how our Assemblymember Bob Wieckowski puts it:</FONT><BR>
<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">“The 5-4 decision in the case of the Federal Elections Commission vs. Citizens United held that corporations have a First Amendment right to spend unlimited amounts to influence election outcomes. It effectively invited corporations to spend wildly on campaigns. Big Business has accepted the invitation.</FONT><BR>
<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">The Citizens United decision essentially unraveled 100 years of legal precedent limiting corporate influence in elections. It reversed prior Supreme Court decisions, repealed key portions of the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, and weakened various state laws limiting corporate campaign expenditures.</FONT><BR>
<BR>
The ruling stated that there is virtually no distinction between the First Amendment rights of people and of corporations, and that independent campaign expenditures by corporations do not contribute to corruption or the appearance of corruption.<BR>
<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">The majority on the court got it wrong.” (For more background on the case, watch the 9-minute video “The Story of Citizens United v. FEC” at <A HREF="http://snipurl.com/21kvcaf">http://snipurl.com/21kvcaf</A> )</FONT><BR>
<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">So, Assemblyman Wieckowski is pushing back by introducing a resolution (AJR 22) calling upon Congress to send a constitutional amendment to the states for ratification that would overturn the Citizens United ruling. If passed, California will be the second state to do so, and will join a growing nationwide list of legislatures, organizations and cities. An estimated 50 similar resolutions have been passed in cities that range from small like Duluth, MN,</FONT>Missoula, MT, Boulder, CO, South Miami, FL, and Richmond, CA to huge ones like Los Angeles (on Dec. 6) and New York (Jan. 4). <BR>
<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">Although individual city councils, and even State legislatures, have no direct say in what will become of proposed constitutional amendment to counter the Citizens United, such resolutions are markers of public support and are critical to building the movement. </FONT>The campaign in Los Angeles, for example, drew endorsements from a long list of organizations including Common Cause, Physicians for Social Responsibility, The Environmental Caucus of the CA Democratic Party, MoveOn LA, Democracy for America, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and California Clean Money Campaign. (<FONT COLOR="#000000">For a complete list of all resolutions passed to date see: <A HREF="http://movetoamend.org/resolutions-map">http://movetoamend.org/resolutions-map</A> )</FONT><BR>
<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">If those two made-up doctrines are overturned by a Constitutional Amendment, we have an entirely new playing field that allows us to continue the democratic experiment that is the United States.</FONT><BR>
<BR>
However, it won't happen without a nationwide movement of people committed to their country. Those of us who have prospered in this country, or have taken an oath to uphold the U. S. Constitution, or simply believe that government of, by and for the people is better than corporate rule, are obligated to join the movement. And Friday, January 20 at noon offers a wonderful opportunity. Here is how MoveToAmend.org puts it:<BR>
<BR>
<B>“Inspired by our friends at Occupy Wall Street, and Dr. Cornel West, Move To Amend is planning bold action to mark the second anniversary of the infamous Citizens United v. FEC decision!</B><BR>
<BR>
<B>Occupy the Courts </B>will be a one day occupation of Federal courthouses across the country,<B>including the U.S. Supreme Court</B>in Washington, D.C., on <B>Friday January 20, 2012</B>.<BR>
<BR>
Americans across the country are on the march, and they ... carry signs that say, “<B>Corporations are NOT people! Money is NOT Speech!</B>” And they are chanting those truths at the top of their lungs! The time has come to make these truths evident to the courts.” <BR>
<BR>
It is time to take back our democracy. Corporations are NOT people. Money is NOT speech.<BR>
<BR>
Join me in St. James park, across the street from the Old Courthouse, 161 N. 1st Street, San Jose, noon – 1:30pm, as we declare our independence from corporate power!<BR>
<BR>
Learn more at <A HREF="http://movetoamend.org/occupythecourts/">http://movetoamend.org/occupythecourts/</A><BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<TABLE CELLSPACING="0" CELLPADDING="0" WIDTH="100%">
<TR>
<TD>
<PRE>
--
Rob Means,1421 Yellowstone Ave., Milpitas, CA 95035-6913
408-262-0420h, 408-262-8975w, <A HREF="mailto:rob.means@electric-bikes.com">rob.means@electric-bikes.com</A>
</PRE>
<BR>
<BR>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
</BODY>
</HTML>