I wonder if Justice Samuel Alito will whisper that this isn’t true, as he famously did when the president said much the same thing during his 2010 State of the Union address:
Sen. John McCain says the Supreme Court ruling that led to formation of super PACs was “one of the worst decisions I have ever seen.”
McCain, whose name has been synonymous with the push for campaign finance reform, also says, quoting, “I predict to you that there will be huge scandals associated with this huge flood of money.”
McCain was referring to Citizens United, the court’s 2010 ruling against limits on spending by independent organizations. The justices based their decision on freedom of speech principles.
In a very real way, we’re not witnessing the people decide who will run against Obama in the fall. We’re witnessing a contest between Jon Huntsman’s father, gambling magnate (and close friend of Benjamin Netanyahu) Sheldon Adelson, a bunch of Texas oil men and religious hucksters, and the shadowy Wall Street forces behind Romney. Each of these people or groups have their own horse in the race, and they can pummel us with five, ten, or twenty-five million dollars of negative advertising per state to make sure retail politics and community organizing mean little to nothing.
Even before the Citizens United ruling, this country was ruled by oligarchs. But we had a fighting chance to overrule their preferences, and we often succeeded. That’s no longer true. Until we can get a Supreme Court that will overrule themselves on Citizens, our democracy will be a bad joke that only breeds cynicism, apathy, and violence.
Will John McCain help us get that Court?
Of course not.
