Political marketing is ubiquitous as the election draws near. You can’t escape the mud-slinging, lies and character assassinations no matter how much you punch the buttons. Attack ads are typically bad with an election around the corner, but politicians this year are setting new lows. If you are looking for somebody to blame, check out the Supreme Court and the Citizens United ruling, that unleashed unaccountable political action committees to spend unlimited amounts of money to for spreading lies and half-truths.
The Citizens United ruling
The Supreme Court ruled the First Amendment protects corporate funding of independent politician marketing which can’t be limited making the Citizens United ruling something that will change politics. Siding with the right wing political group Citizens United, the Supreme Court struck down a provision of the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, or the McCain–Feingold Act. The provision that was stopped was one that made it extremely hard for broadcast, cable or satellite marketing to be run within 60 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary election. Both non-profit and for-profit organizations weren’t allowed to do so.
The change made by Citizens United
The midterm election can be here in a week or two. Citizens United has made a very big impact on what will happen. All states are bound to view the special interest group ads. They will all be deceptive attacks to change things. Voters do not know who’s behind these ads or who’s paying for them. The new York Times explains that even foreign companies are in on it. They want a candidate to vote for them. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has decided to get in on this. Apparently “dues” are taken from the foreign companies in Bahrain, India and Egypt that are purchasing ads for the midterm races, reports the Center for American Progress Tuesday.
What Citizens United should prepare for
The danger Citizens United brings to our democracy is stated obviously by the Los Angeles Times. The Times writes that within the last two years government has stood up to the abuses of the financial industry and insurance companies. Tax breaks for companies that ship positions overseas are rolled back. Rules to protect clean air and water are being enforced. But thanks to Citizens United, Republicans are hoping to ride a wave of unregulated, out of control political spending to victory in November. Laws won’t come from the government anymore. They’ll come from the lobbyists again. Congress should fix this, says the Times. Changing things now won’t even entirely fix the problem. The election is still corrupt.
Citations
New York Times
nytimes.com/2010/10/06/opinion/06wed1.html?scp=2 and amp;sq=us chamber and amp;st=cse
Los Angeles Times
latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/09/weekly-remarks-greg-walden-stop-tax-hikes-obama.html
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