Tudamorf
01-22-2010, 09:32 PM
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/01/21/national/w070501S29.DTLBiz, unions freed to spend big on elections
(01-22) 10:57 PST WASHINGTON (AP) --
A bitterly divided Supreme Court vastly increased the power of big business and unions to influence government decisions by freeing them to spend their millions directly to sway elections for president and Congress.
The Thursday ruling reversed a century-long trend to limit the political muscle of corporations, organized labor and their massive war chests. It also recast the political landscape just as crucial midterm election campaigns are getting under way.
In its sweeping 5-4 ruling, the court set the stage for a wave of likely repercussions — from new pressures on lawmakers to heed special interest demands to increasingly boisterous campaigns featuring highly charged ads that drown out candidate voices.
The election-season blizzard of ads on Americans TV screens is bound to increase.
While the full consequences of the decision were hard to measure, politicians made clear whom they believed benefited. Democrats, led by President Barack Obama, condemned the decision while Republicans cheered it.Odd how the "Republican" Supreme Court is so generous with the First Amendment when it directly benefits their party, but otherwise pretend it doesn't exist.
Why don't we just get rid of the useless middlemen, and directly put the CEOs of the major companies in Congress and the White House? It would be a lot more efficient.
(01-22) 10:57 PST WASHINGTON (AP) --
A bitterly divided Supreme Court vastly increased the power of big business and unions to influence government decisions by freeing them to spend their millions directly to sway elections for president and Congress.
The Thursday ruling reversed a century-long trend to limit the political muscle of corporations, organized labor and their massive war chests. It also recast the political landscape just as crucial midterm election campaigns are getting under way.
In its sweeping 5-4 ruling, the court set the stage for a wave of likely repercussions — from new pressures on lawmakers to heed special interest demands to increasingly boisterous campaigns featuring highly charged ads that drown out candidate voices.
The election-season blizzard of ads on Americans TV screens is bound to increase.
While the full consequences of the decision were hard to measure, politicians made clear whom they believed benefited. Democrats, led by President Barack Obama, condemned the decision while Republicans cheered it.Odd how the "Republican" Supreme Court is so generous with the First Amendment when it directly benefits their party, but otherwise pretend it doesn't exist.
Why don't we just get rid of the useless middlemen, and directly put the CEOs of the major companies in Congress and the White House? It would be a lot more efficient.