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Campaign Finance Unreformed

January 22, 2010

The Supreme Court ruled this week to overturn a century-old limit on corporate spending in political elections. Corporations, unions and political groups can now spend as much as they want on political advertising, so long as they don't give directly to a candidate. No one's exactly sure what this means for future elections, but all are fairly certainly that we'll be seeing a lot more ads.

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  • "You're Gonna Cry" by Binky Griptite & The Mellowmatics
Listener Comments Leave a Comment | Refresh Comments
[1]
Posted by: Kahlid January 23, 2010 - 12:46PM
Philly PA

When the Solicitor General makes an oral argument contrary to her written brief, it's shocking that she didn't lose 9-0.

[2]
Posted by: Thad January 24, 2010 - 12:51PM
Jersey

This seems like nothing less than a constitutional crisis. People are guaranteed the right to free speech. Corporations are clearly not people and hold disproportionate sway over society as it is. Does big business currently have so much influence through all media that we're not even shocked by this decision?

[3]
Posted by: William Valle January 24, 2010 - 08:11PM
San Berdoo

At the at of this segment you mentioned we would be hearing a lot more from Exxon. Why?

[4]
Posted by: superf88 January 25, 2010 - 09:27AM

Yay! It's the 2010 Media Bailout package!

[5]
Posted by: Charlie Brenner January 25, 2010 - 01:01PM
Lexington, MA

Someone in your clip said this ruling was a "sea change", and you picked up on that, saying, "...the sea changed, to the color of money." Bad metaphor: A sea change is a gradual but complete transformation, but it's not the sea that changes; the sea is the agent of change.

More aptly, one could say that the Court itself has undergone a sea change, as the replacement of liberals and centrists by conservatives has made it a different institution.

The phrase comes from Shakespeare's The Tempest. Here's the whole thing:

"Full fathom five thy father lies,

Of his bones are coral made,

Those are pearls that were his eyes,

Nothing of him that doth fade,

But doth suffer a sea-change,

into something rich and strange,

Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell,

Ding-dong.

Hark! now I hear them, ding-dong, bell."

Sorry to be didactic, but stuff like that rings MY bell!

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