Opinion: Support county proposal opposing Citizens United

Local, state backing improves chances for a constitutional amendment overturning court decision

Since the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court decision reversed decades of precedent to allow unlimited corporate political spending,  expenditures on political campaigns have multiplied.  In 2016, for instance,  approximately $6.5 billion was spent by candidates for Congress and the presidency – as documented by campaign finance watchdog opensecrets.org.

The New York Times forecast that the Koch brothers would spend about $900 million in the 2016 election.   Many politicians have made no secret of their dependence on big money.  Congressman Mick Mulvaney, now President Trump’s Chief of Staff, openly stated that he would not meet with lobbyists who didn’t give him money.   Fortunately, not everyone has accepted this corruption of our political system.

On Tuesday the Board of Supervisors will consider a resolution authored by Supervisor Dave Cortese calling for a constitutional amendment 1) overturning Citizens United and authorizing  regulation of election contributions and expenditures, and 2) stating that constitutional rights belong to people, and not to corporations and artificial entities created by people.

The constitution speaks of persons and citizens.  There is no mention of corporations. The extension of constitutional rights to corporations was accomplished by courts and has never been approved by the people.  In addition to being used to justify unlimited political spending in Citizens United, this doctrine has been used to defeat regulation and legislation designed to protect the public health and welfare.  For example:

In Massachusetts, a regulation to protect children from being targeted by the tobacco industry by prohibiting tobacco advertising within 1,000 feet of a school was struck it down as a violation of the corporation’s First Amendment free speech rights.

In Vermont, the legislature passed a law requiring written notice on dairy products containing a synthetic growth hormone that had been banned by the European Union, Canada, and other countries as a possible carcinogen.  The law was struck down by a federal court that decided Vermonters didn’t even have the right to make an informed decision because requiring such notice would infringe on the corporation’s free speech rights.

OSHA was prohibited from making surprise safety inspections without a warrant because a court held that it would violate a corporation’s Fourth Amendment rights to be free of unreasonable searches.

Exxon Mobile is attempting to end investigation by the Massachusetts and New York attorneys general into its misleading  consumers and shareholders by suppressing its prior knowledge of the effects of burning fossil fuels and actively distributing false information.   Exxon says its written statements are protected by the First Amendment.

Corporations do not need constitutional rights to function.  The traditional and necessary powers of corporations such as owning property, and entering into legal transactions are privileges granted by state law.  Even Chief Justice William Rehnquist, a conservative and Nixon appointee stated that corporations are not entitled to First Amendment constitutional rights.

The movement for a 28th amendment to the Constitution has strong support from the people and local jurisdictions.  Approximately 800 local governments and at least 20 states have passed resolutions or ballot measures calling for an amendment overturning Citizens United.  Even in conservative Montana, the electorate passed an initiative stating that “corporations are not human beings with constitutional rights” by 75 to 25 percent.  As support grows at the state and local level, the possibility of passing an amendment grows.

A constitutional amendment is the best and, given our present politics, only way to reclaim our democracy.  If you believe that the free speech rights of people with limited financial resources have been overwhelmed by corporations and billionaires spending millions to support their chosen candidates, contact your supervisor and say you support this resolution.

Brian Carr is a member of Move to Amend and a former Santa Clara County Deputy County Counsel. Craig Dunkerley is the South Bay Coordinator for the California Clean Money Campaign.