What is the Citizens United decision and why does it have to be overturned?
This Supreme Court decision overturned limits set up by Congress for spending by corporations on federal elections. As a result, corporations can pour even more money into influencing the outcome of elections. Unless Citizens United is overturned, candidates who have criticisms of corporate environmental or social behavior will have an even harder time matching the spending of those who subordinate the real interests of their constituents to the best interests of the corporations. And pressure will increase even further for candidates to appeal for money from those who have it—the richest people in the society—and that will increase the degree to which those with money will shape the policies of those candidates. In order to reach its decision, the Supreme Court had to affirm previous interpretations that corporations are “persons” under the Fourteenth Amendment (although history makes clear that the intent of the framers of that amendment was to ensure that African Americans would not
