A SUPREME MESS

The Supreme Court recently ruled, in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, that corporations, lobbyists and unions could freely donate to political campaign advertising.  You would think that the democrats would be thrilled at the prospect, because this frees up their beloved unions to more fully support their campaigns.  And out in the open, for a change.  Although daylight might be the last thing the union heads want, bloodsuckers that they are.

Instead, the democrats are in an absolute tizzy about the ruling and even had the audacity to announce they would try to pass a Constitutional amendment to bypass it.  Good luck with that.  President Obama, in one of his less than presidential moments, even scolded the Court publicly during his State of the Union speech.  Justice Samuel Alito silently mouthed the words "Not true" as the liberals in Congress stood up and cheered Obama on.

Chief Justice John Roberts finally made a statement on the whole episode last week.  He called the scolding "very troubling" (via the New York Times):

The chief justice painted a harrowing picture of “one branch of government standing up, literally surrounding the Supreme Court, cheering and hollering while the court — according to the requirements of protocol — has to sit there expressionless.”

This has reignited a firestorm about the decision, and once again the liberals are freaking out.  It's a bit surprising, though, considering their beloved unions and lobbyists will now have free rein.

The real problem is that corporations are also being given free rein, and that includes insurance companies and Wall Street banking firms.  Wall Street was a heavy supporter of Obama during the campaign, but one would imagine that they are having a change of heart after the past year's confiscatory taxation and demonization.  A leading indicator of their disaffection is the fact that they are already switching alliegances. 

The basis of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission was a dispute over a film about Hillary Clinton that Citizens United wanted to air during the campaign.  The film would have been highly damaging to her campaign and was slapped with a lawsuit to stop its release.  The Supreme Court's ruling opened the doors to future films in future campaigns. 

I can't imagine why President Obama is so passionate about overruling this.  It's not like there are any highly placed politicians whose pasts have been shrouded in mystery during the last election cycle or anything....