Dozens of protesters marched from the Capitol to the federal courthouse Tuesday to rally against the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that lifts caps on political spending by corporations and unions.
The ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission in January, which split the court on a 5-4 vote, decided that limits on campaign spending by corporations are a violation of the First Amendment. Those against the court's decision argue that corporate interests' involvement in public elections undermines democracy.
""As we look at what this ruling has done, it really has taken the guts out of democracy in this country, and we cannot simply sit by. We have to amend the Constitution,"" local attorney and political activist Ed Garvey said. ""We have got to tell the corporations that this is a country of people, not of corporate entities.""
Although the ruling could have major ramifications for the election process, especially for the upcoming 2010 midterm elections, Mike McCabe, executive director of the nonpartisan watchdog group Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, said pending legislation in the state Senate could increase regulation of contributions at the state level.
McCabe said two pending Senate bills could be ""a blow directly at the heart of the ‘advertocracy' that this court is trying to create. It closes the single biggest loophole in Wisconsin's campaign finance laws, and it pulls the cloak of the special interests that are contaminating our elections.""
Lisa Graves, executive director of the Center for Media and Democracy, a nonprofit media research organization, said the justices who voted in favor of the ruling have a dangerous understanding of the Constitution.
The central issues, according to Garvey, are the protection of individuals' rights and legally distinguishing a person from a corporate entity.
""AT&T does not have a mother or father, Wal-Mart does not have a soul, corporations are not people and they do not have a special place in our society,"" he said.
