Politics

Democrats Vow to Amend the Constitution "If Necessary" to Overturn Citizens United

|

The U.S. Supreme Court gets only two shout-outs in the 2012 Democratic National Platform, and you will probably not be surprised to hear that one of them involves demagoguing the Court's free speech ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission. As the platform puts it:

Our political system is under assault by those who believe that special interests should be able to buy whatever they want in our society, including our government. Our opponents have applauded the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United and welcomed the new flow of special interest money with open arms. In stark contrast, we believe we must take immediate action to curb the influence of lobbyists and special interests on our political institutions….

We support campaign finance reform, by constitutional amendment if necessary.

I'm sure the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed a friend of the court brief in Citizens United urging the Supreme Court to protect the free speech rights of corporations and unions, is just ticked to have its principled defense of the First Amendment caricatured by the DNC.