Sanders Introduces Constitutional Amendment
Democracy is for People Amendment Would Reverse
Citizens United
Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced a constitutional amendment in the Senate today to overturn a misguided Supreme Court ruling that allowed unrestricted, secret campaign spending by corporations and billionaires.
The amendment, which was introduced by Rep. Ted Deutch in the House, would make it clear that the right to vote and the ability to make campaign contributions and expenditures belong only to people — not corporations.
The 2010 Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission undermined democracy by opening the campaign spending floodgates. What the Supreme Court did in Citizens United is to tell billionaires like the Koch brothers and Sheldon Adelson, You own and control Wall Street. You own and control coal companies. You own and control oil companies. Now, for a very small percentage of your wealth, we’re going to give you the opportunity to own and control the United States government, Bernie said. That is the essence of what Citizens United is all about. That is why this disastrous decision must be reversed.
As a direct result of the controversial ruling, a record $7 billion was spent in the 2012 election. Eleven states, including Vermont, and more than 300 cities and towns have already passed resolutions calling for the ruling to be overturned.
Read the constitutional amendment »
Fact sheet »
Read more »
Leave a Reply