Posted on 04/19/2012 2:11:32 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
Pelosi: Amend the First Amendment By Terence P. Jeffrey April 19, 2012
(CNSNews.com) - House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday endorsed a movement announced by other congressional Democrats on Wednesday to ratify an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would allow Congress to regulate political speech when it is engaged in by corporations as opposed to individuals.
The First Amendment says in part: "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press..."
Television networks, newspapers, publishing houses, movie studios and think tanks, as well as political action committees, are usually organized as, or elements of, corporations.
Pelosi said the Democrats' effort to amend the Constitution is part of a three-pronged strategy that also includes promoting the DISCLOSE Act, which would increase disclosure requirements for organizations running political ads, and “reducing the roll of money in campaigns” (which some Democrats have said can be done through taxpayer funding of campaigns).
The constitutional amendment the Democrats seek would reverse the Supreme Court’s 2009 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. In that decision the court said that the First Amendment protects a right of free speech for corporations as well as for individuals, and that corporations (including those that produce newspapers, films and books) have a right to speak about politicians and their records just as individuals do.
“We have a clear agenda in this regard: Disclose, reform the system reducing the roll of money in campaigns, and amend the Constitution to rid it of this ability for special interests to use secret, unlimited, huge amounts of money flowing to campaigns,” Pelosi said at her Thursday press briefing.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnsnews.com ...
Let one conservative Supreme Court Justice die or resign and have a liberal President who will name another liberal judge to the court.
Five-to-four liberal majority and , PRESTO!, the First Amendment will have been amended.
She is that close to her goal, folks...
Fine, Nancy. Then stop taxing and regulating corporations.
“Amend the 1st amendment?”
I suppose she will suggest that “we pass it so we can find out what’s in it”....
Birds of a feather...
What else would one expect from communists? It looks like Nancy wasted no time in putting pen to paper for her communist brethren.
Progressive Caucus Declares Support for Constitutional Amendment to Overturn Citizens United
4/18/12Members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) voted unanimously today to endorse a declaration in support of a constitutional amendment to reverse the Supreme Court’s recent Citizens United v. FEC decision.
The CPC, which includes 78 members, is the first Congressional caucus to officially declare support for a constitutional amendment. President Obama, two state legislatures, 1,000 elected officials, more than 150 cities and towns have already expressed support for repealing Citizens United.
“The influence of money in politics is the single biggest threat to our democracy,” said Rep. Keith Ellison, Co-Chair of the CPC. “In this election cycle alone, Super PACs have raised almost $160 million and spent close to $90 million. And we still have six months until the election. Corporations are not people. And in America, democracy should never, ever be for sale.”
“This isn’t just about elections – it’s about the principle that America is run by the people, not just the rich and powerful,” said CPC Co-Chair Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva. “Giving corporations the authority to buy elections is a step we’ll regret for decades to come, and I join the American people in saying it’s time we stopped this power grab.”
The text of the declaration is included below:
“We declare our support for amending the Constitution of the United States to restore the rights of the American people, undermined by Citizens United and related cases, to protect the integrity of our elections and limit the corrosive influence of money in our democratic process.”
Since when has Pelosi ever cared about “all that Constitution stuff”
Unions would be EXEMPT from the restrictions. Conservative non-profits, like the NRA, would be BANNED from speech, but liberal ones, like PETA or the ACLU, would be grandfathered, under exemptions granted by the National Commissar for Communications.
Unfortunately, no
Shameless thread highjack:
To: rightly_dividing
One dollar per month would cover everything if 10% of our readers would reliably put it up.
39 posted on Thursday, April 19, 2012 4:10:05 PM by Jim Robinson (There’s no crying in rebellion!!)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2874129/posts?page=39
Are these people the COMMUNISTS in Congress that Alan West was talking about?
Nancy, Nancy, Nancy...
Back when the NYTimes could write a story, and then decide which disagreeing “letter to the editor” to publish.
Public discourse is so much more civil when you control both sides of the argument.
LOL
Those are fighting words, WE HAVE YET BEGUN TO FIGHT!!
Nancy is an idiot! She’s only doing this ‘cause the RATS don’t control the House. And won’t control the Senate after November.
Look, this isn’t a suprise - these people hate the Constitution and the limits it puts on them, and they just want to tear it down. They’re banking on the SCOTUS going liberal at some point and at that point their laws that will demolish it will be declared constitutional.
Which is why Obama can’t get back in in 2012.
3-4 justices are going to die or retire. we have to have someone in there that won’t offer up moderates or liberals.
While we are at it Nancy, let’s revise or do away with a few other Amendments.
Let’s start with the 16th. ABOLISH IT.
F U N P!
F U B O!
F U D P!
Yup!
Please, someone AMEND her.
When was the last time a Minority (or Speaker) Leader suggested changing the Bill of Rights? Another, in the long list of things the GOP must run on this year.
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