Citizens United Decision

More money has been spent on the 2012 election than any other election in history. Ever. This is due to the ruling of the Citizens United case in 2010. Citizens United argued that corporations and unions should be able to have freedom of speech to financially support candidates in elections. Then, the super PACs were formed, making the power of corporations limitless. The only real restriction placed on these corporations is that they cannot directly associate with candidates. Spending of outside groups has increased by 1600% between the 2008 and 2012 elections. Clearly, the new law is a game-changer. Conservatives love this new policy. Since conservatives already support big businesses, they are now widely backed by these businesses. More than $38 million dollars has already been spent on Republicans by these corporations. Conservatives use the reason that letting more people participate promotes democracy. They view the corporations as citizens with the same Constitutional rights so they must deserve free speech. Liberals see corporate free speech as a threat to the people. Now those who have more money will have more influence over the election. They disagree that it doesn't promote democracy at all. The decision allows those with money to promote any candidate in a popular light and put whatever words in their mouth that the corporation chooses. A total of 85% of the people feel that corporations have too much power and influence in our democracy. Corporations having a greater influence in our democracy makes it harder for individual people to have their voices heard. The people don't agree with corporations having free speech, with 62% of the public opposed to the decision. The Citizens United decision was a huge mistake. The Supreme Court put the power of presidential elections in the hands of rich corporations who will pay to put into office whichever candidate will pass laws to ensure a greater free market and cut taxes on big corporations. These are largely conservative views that envelope the goals of large corporations. This means Republicans are most likely getting more support from outside sources than Democrats are. It sounds like a partnership forming between Republicans and corporations. Political power is now determined by who has the deepest pockets essentially. For example, Mitt Romney's super PAC had enough power to cause great detriment to Newt Gingrich's poll lead in Iowa. The middle and lower classes will pretty much be ignored if political power continues to swing in this direction.