Posted on 01/23/2010 6:12:34 PM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (Reuters) President Barack Obama launched an extraordinary attack on the Supreme Court on Saturday, saying a ruling on corporate donations to political campaigns this week "strikes at democracy itself."
Obama's broadside was triggered by a 5-4 ruling by the court's justices on Thursday that removed long-standing campaign finance limits and allowed corporations to spend freely in campaigns for president and Congress. In the ruling, the court's conservative majority said the limits had violated corporations' constitutional right to free speech.
The ruling is expected to unleash a flood of money into this year's congressional elections. Obama's fellow Democrats face a struggle to retain control of the Congress amid voter unhappiness over double-digit unemployment, a record deficit, political gridlock in Washington and other matters.
"This ruling opens the floodgates for an unlimited amount of special interest money into our democracy," Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address.
"It gives the special interest lobbyists new leverage to spend millions on advertising to persuade elected officials to vote their way -- or to punish those who don't. This ruling strikes at democracy itself," Obama said.
In the 2008 election cycle, nearly $6 billion was spent on all federal election campaigns, including more than $1 billion from corporate political action committees, trade associations, executives and lobbyists.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
LOL, actually a blow to democrats. not democracy.
Another black mark on your employee evaluation, Idiot-boy:
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh schucky dernos and whoopy ew dad nab it....now the unions money and all of that money we doled out in stimulous meant to help democrats in future elections is going to have dad burned competition....I need a beer and a cigarette....get me to the golf course ASAP!"
Freedom of Association implies that people who are assembled can speak with one voice, doesn’t it? Banning associations of people from having a voice is unconstitutional on its face.
I don’t know what it did to Obamao’s democracy, but it helped mine.
Actually, Obama is a bigger blow to democracy.
Unlike labor unions or billionaire socialists?
Zero would feel pretty silly if the court responding by agreeing to hear an eligibility appeal case.
If one branch of gov. take it u[on itself to attack another branch directly, there is always a chance of return fire.
I wouldn’t be too sure of that. Some corporations will use it to defeat candidates who are hostile to their industries (oil and coal companies, for example). But many will want to help candidates that funnel government spending their way. Democrats are the party of big government spending.
In the end corporations are not conservative or liberal, just out to make profits.
The Democrats have a free voice with the sympathetic main stream media plus the luxury of Union and Soros money. They don’t like competition. The SCOTUS has corrected a mistake. The federal gov’t can’t limit free speech.
I thought criticizing the court was on a list of things classy presidents don’t do.
I guess it’s out of his reach. I wonder if he’ll try to remake it, like FDR did.
“See John, I can speak out on behalf of campaign finance, so why don’t do me a favor now and help out with Obamacare. And, go ask Palin for a kind word.”
He aspires to be a dictator - will brook no dissent or anyone disagreeing with him. Anathema to democracy.
Ah..world class hypocrisy. When Kelo vs New London was decided, Nancy Pelosi said:
"It is a decision of the Supreme Court. If Congress wants to change it, it will require legislation of a level of a constitutional amendment. So this is almost as if God has spoken. It's an elementary discussion now. They have made the decision."
Republicans and some Democrats wanted to ban Federal funds from any development that took advantage of Kelo (it allowed government to take property via eminent domain and sell it to corporations which would pay more in taxes).
Oh noo...nooo...Nancy said...we can't pass a law like that. We need a constitutional amendment to deal with Kelo
*****
I can't help laughing at Obama's remarks about a blow to democracy for this reason:
To me, one of the biggest blows to democracy occurred when the courts turned down lawsuits time after time that asked Obama to produce his Hawaii long form birth certificate and his undergraduate college records at Occidental in California and Columbia in New York City.
Let me see. 2 out of three people are against his Health Scheme and he still pushes it. Democracy?
Well, first chance he gets, he will seek to change that 5-4 voting balance in the Supremes. He might be thinking of adding a couple of liberal judges to get a 6-5 vote on his wants and desires. Like TOTAL gun control.
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