ultimate civics

Ultimate Civics | Yet again the U.S. Supreme Court has sided with the ruling elite against the interests of the American people. On January 21, 2010, in Citizens United vs. FEC they overturned the flimsy federal campaign finance reform laws afforded by the McCain-Feingold law. Corporations can now spend unlimited money to buy our elections. The Court has legalized corporate bribery of our elected officials.

The Court relied on the illegitimate legal doctrine of "Corporate Personhood" in order to justify this profoundly undemocratic decision. Corporate personhood is the notion that a corporation can claim to be a person, and therefore entitled to basic human rights—also described as political and civil rights—and have courts overturn laws.

Opposition to this decision crosses all political boundaries. Senator John McCain said, "I was disappointed but [it was] not unexpected... You're going to see a dramatic increase in corporate and union independent expenditures." Representative Alan Grayson, (D-FL) issued a strong response, "The Supreme Court in essence has ruled that corporations can buy elections. If that happens, democracy in America is over. We cannot put the law up for sale and award government to the highest bidder."

In addressing the issue of corporate personhood, TeaParty.org found Dale Grayson hit the nail on the head, saying, "Corporations are not like people. Corporations exist forever, people don't. Our founding fathers never wanted them, these behemoth organizations that never die so they can collect an insurmountable amount of profit. It puts the people at a tremendous disadvantage."

Join Us in Opposing This Decision
Ultimate Civics put out a call to action, and working together with Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County, brought together key groups last fall to address the need for reform. Out of this meeting, a coalition formed, creating the Campaign to Legalize Democracy. The coalition established a goal to AMEND THE US CONSTITUTION TO ABOLISH CORPORATE PERSONHOOD.