Posted on 01/23/2010 11:38:59 AM PST by opentalk
Thursday, in his resounding defense of the First Amendment in the Citizens United decision, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority:
…[w]hen Government seeks to use its full power, including the criminal law, to command where a person may get his or her information or what distrusted source he or she may not hear, it uses censorship to control thought. This is unlawful. The First Amendment confirms the freedom to think for ourselves.
“Censorship” is a dirty word in America, and that is why the restrictions at issue in our case were cloaked in the guise of “campaign finance reform.” But the fact remains that any restrictions on political speech, especially those that criminalize such speech, send us down a very slippery and very dangerous slope.
Last March, our government argued in court that it has the Constitutional authority to ban books that mention a candidate for federal office. The government later retracted that statement, but is there any doubt that such a statement never would have been made if there had not been 100 years of progressively more intrusive restrictions on political speech preceding it? Had the Court not acted, what was to prevent the government from asserting that authority over the internet, which does not have the benefit of two centuries of tradition and jurisprudence protecting it?
...Finally, as the Court acknowledged, the position that corporations cannot engage in political speech has a fatal logical flaw. Almost every major media outlet in the country is owned by a corporation and most of them advocate for or against candidates via endorsements, opinion columns, or politically-oriented programming. Why should General Electric, which owns MSNBC, be permitted to use its nearly unlimited resources to influence elections,
(Excerpt) Read more at biggovernment.com ...
This was a 5 - 4 decision in the court. FOUR justices voted AGAINST the First Amendment. The issue with the book seems to have been taken into consideration.- The author makes a great point about General Electric .
The week of Brown!
FLOYD BROWN
SCOTT BROWN
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find only things evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelogus
When I was young, I was a Democrat, thinking that they was a party of individual freedom. Now, Democrats are the most un-liberal party, except for abortion. Even then, the baby’s freedom is ignored.
To me, the answer is obvious - everybody should be able to give any amount of money to whoever they want! Any problem with “buying” an election can be handled by disclosure.
My S.Ct. opinion would be about a page long, not 57!
Freedom of Speach by corporations and unions and their millions or........ Freedom of Speach of the people?
This excerpt, may explain my “O” was soooooo Pissed at SCOTUS....
“Had the Court not acted, what was to prevent the government from asserting that authority over the internet, which does not have the benefit of two centuries of tradition and jurisprudence protecting it?”
Scratch one Internet Czar....”Best laid plans of Mice and Men..”
Add conservative radio to that, and the fairness doctrine.
excerpt from
http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/08-205.ZS.html
2. (a) Although the First Amendment provides that “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech,” §441b’s prohibition on corporate independent expenditures is an outright ban on speech, backed by criminal sanctions.
Answer, Freedom of speech for All. “Make No Law”
Next question.
I agree but since money talks pretty loud, those outfits have a lot of money to spend and talk without the peoples consent. I don’t know the answer to this but something should be done to put the people on the same footing as the large corporations and unions.
We the People have a responsibility to research our candidates. As we have now, when we fail to do our duties, we end up with corruption and Godless individuals in office (not all but most). Now as the people are waking up all the money in the would will not make a real difference if We the People filter out the trip talk.
Internet is a leveling tool and maybe media may find its way back to their real purpose in life soon. (well I’m hopeing that will happen)...
We get what we deserve as we see now but this works both ways and we are in the realm of a true reversal now. Time will tell.
I am total against limiting donations personal or corporate. I do not mind the name being tied to the donation, case in point George Soros and how much of his money was masked in the last campaign? No limit just accountability.
I wonder if this can be used as precedent to overturn 501(c)(3) prohibitions and the threats of loss of tax exemption made by the IRS.
The 501(c)(3) legislation was pushed and promoted by Lyndon Johnson and made law while he was still serving as a Senator from Texas in 1954. He crafted this legislation with the expressed intent of threatening the opposition he was experiencing politically from church organizations.
FReegards!
Corporations are still not that free. They say something a lefty does not like and said lefty has plenty of other ways to retaliate besides direct prosecution.
Corporations and unions ARE people.
There was a similar count - though a different lineup - for the Heller decision.
IMHO, the single most compelling reason to have kept Obama out of the Oval Office was the effect he would almost certainly have on the SCOTUS. Goodness knows there were lots of reasons to fear this man in that position but none were, to me, as compelling as the future of The Court.
We lucked out in that the first one to leave the court was a liberal. We can't expect that kind of luck to last.
We are one appointment and confirmation away from damage will last a lifetime, literally.
This is one reason I hope against hope that the Birthers will come up with something that sticks.
Of course they are but it is the people at the top controlling the millions that go into the politicians campaigns. That is without the average persons knowledge and permission.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.