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“RESOLVED, the City of Madison, Wisconsin, calls for reclaiming democracy from the corrupting effects of undue corporate influence by amending the United States Constitution to establish that:
1. Only human beings, not corporations, are entitled to constitutional rights, and
2. Money is not speech, and therefore regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting political speech.”
84% of voters in Madison, Wisconsin have approved the above measure that would strip corporations of any claim to the protection of rights enumerated in the U.S. Constitution. Voters elsewhere in Wisconsin have also approved the measure in their particular counties. The proposal comes in the wake of Wisconsin Republicans successful efforts to strip from state unions the right to collectively bargain. The battle over that bill galvanized many in America, and has spurred progressives and others on the left to reassert workers’ rights.
The amendment, proposed by Move to Amend, is meant to strike at the heart of Citizens United, a 2010 Supreme Court decision that ruled that corporations were entitled to the same constitutional protection as citizens. That decision also paved the way for corporations to donate any amount they wish to political campaigns.
Many Americans, including Republicans, are decidedly against giving corporations the same rights as individuals, and are also very much against allowing corporations to fund campaigns. According to a Survey USA poll, 70% of Republicans and 88% of Democrats are for rejecting the underlying tenets of Citizens United.
Whether or not progressives, and any conservative allies they pick up a long the way, will be able to actually amend the Constitution to strip corporations of certain rights, only time will tell. But it seems, based on polling and the fervency of the proposal’s supporters, that the initiative might very well be able to accomplish what many across the political spectrum have hoped to see for decades. At the very least, the measure will raise awareness of an issue many have long sought to address.
1. Only human beings, not corporations, are entitled to constitutional rights, and
2. Money is not speech, and therefore regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting political speech.”
84% of voters in Madison, Wisconsin have approved the above measure that would strip corporations of any claim to the protection of rights enumerated in the U.S. Constitution. Voters elsewhere in Wisconsin have also approved the measure in their particular counties. The proposal comes in the wake of Wisconsin Republicans successful efforts to strip from state unions the right to collectively bargain. The battle over that bill galvanized many in America, and has spurred progressives and others on the left to reassert workers’ rights.
The amendment, proposed by Move to Amend, is meant to strike at the heart of Citizens United, a 2010 Supreme Court decision that ruled that corporations were entitled to the same constitutional protection as citizens. That decision also paved the way for corporations to donate any amount they wish to political campaigns.
Many Americans, including Republicans, are decidedly against giving corporations the same rights as individuals, and are also very much against allowing corporations to fund campaigns. According to a Survey USA poll, 70% of Republicans and 88% of Democrats are for rejecting the underlying tenets of Citizens United.
Whether or not progressives, and any conservative allies they pick up a long the way, will be able to actually amend the Constitution to strip corporations of certain rights, only time will tell. But it seems, based on polling and the fervency of the proposal’s supporters, that the initiative might very well be able to accomplish what many across the political spectrum have hoped to see for decades. At the very least, the measure will raise awareness of an issue many have long sought to address.
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