Citizens United Part II

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

Well, if people thought we were screwed when the Supreme Court made its disastrous 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. FEC...well, they were right. But now it's even worse. The Montana Supreme Court upheld its own state law regarding limits on corporate political spending, distinguishing its law from the one at issue in Citizens United. In a result that was as horrifying as it was predictable, the Supreme Court struck down the law today, expanded upon its original Citizens United decision to now include state and local laws, and royally screwed our entire country on behalf of the ultra-wealthy.

[Her3tiK]

Remind me why nobody's burned down Wall St. yet.

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

Remind me why nobody's burned down Wall St. yet.

Because gasoline is frickin expensive?

[Osama bin Bambi]

[Fpqxz]

So...does this mean we have to continue this charade of "democracy"?

Or can we finally admit, to ourselves and everyone else, that we are basically a plutocracy now?

[TheUnknown]

So it's, "let the people vote on human rights and keep our noses out of it," but " let's step in the moment corporate interests are jeopardized"?

Edit: The commenters that support this are defending it by claiming "free speech" over and over (especially one poster in particular, who made many single sentence posts parroting this claim repeatedly), then defending why corporations should be counted as people because they're simply a group of people that deserve a voice, and can't possibly see how this can turn out bad or corrupt.

[tempus]

So...does this mean we have to continue this charade of "democracy"?

Or can we finally admit, to ourselves and everyone else, that we are basically a plutocracy now?

They'll keep up the charade for a while longer.  I don't think they'll dispense with the illusion of representative democracy altogether--at least not for a generation or two.  It's too useful for keeping the population under control, letting them pretend that they still have a say.  But this effectively ends the United States as we know it. 

Is it still regulatory capture when the captured agency is the entire United States government itself?

[tempus]

So it's, "let the people vote on human rights and keep our noses out of it," but " let's step in the moment corporate interests are jeopardized"?

Edit: The commenters that support this are defending it by claiming "free speech" over and over (especially one poster in particular, who made many single sentence posts parroting this claim repeatedly), then defending why corporations should be counted as people because they're simply a group of people that deserve a voice, and can't possibly see how this can turn out bad or corrupt.

Much like the clownshoes who post the names, home addresses and phone numbers of doctors who perform abortions, they can't fail to understand exactly what they're doing.  Their denial is only an attempt to muddy the waters enough to diffuse protest. 

Bottom line is, they fully support corporations throwing money at politicians until they cave as protected free speech as long as it's their side, their pet politicians and their favorite corporations who benefit from it.  They'd protest it if it were "liberals" doing it, but since that probably isn't going to be happening, they're perfectly fine with it.  Welcome to Guilded Age II:  Electric Boogaloo. 

[Fpqxz]

So...does this mean we have to continue this charade of "democracy"?

Or can we finally admit, to ourselves and everyone else, that we are basically a plutocracy now?

They'll keep up the charade for a while longer.  I don't think they'll dispense with the illusion of representative democracy altogether--at least not for a generation or two.  It's too useful for keeping the population under control, letting them pretend that they still have a say.  But this effectively ends the United States as we know it.

Wow...that's an eerily accurate summary of the situation.  The rich may as well cut out the middleman and rule us directly.

Is it still regulatory capture when the captured agency is the entire United States government itself?

I would say probably yes, but not in the way we have come to think of it.

One apocryphal quote from former President Bill Clinton:  "There’s a government inside the government, and I don’t control it."  Compare this with the Turkish phenomenon of the "deep state".  It's not so much different from what the USA faces.

[nickiknack]

Thanks Justices Kennedy, Scalia, Thomas, Alito, and Roberts, for reminding me why I have little faith left in this country, and humanity as a whole.

[Meshakhad]

We're still a democracy. All this is about is persuading people to vote one way or the other, not making them do so.

[booley]

We're still a democracy. All this is about is persuading people to vote one way or the other, not making them do so.

yeppers.

Using unlimited and untracable amounts o f money to drown out anybody else so only your message gets through.

People are then free to choose between your message and the other one they know nothing about.

[m52nickerson]

yeppers.

Using unlimited and untracable amounts o f money to drown out anybody else so only your message gets through.

People are then free to choose between your message and the other one they know nothing about.

...and they know nothing about it because people have gotten lazy and expect information to just be fed to them.  Democracy is not a spectator sport.  For one to be done right, people have to take an active role.

[erictheblue]

...and they know nothing about it because people have gotten lazy and expect information to just be fed to them.  Democracy is not a spectator sport.  For one to be done right, people have to take an active role.

Why would people go looking for information when they are being fed all of it without effort? How are people supposed to know they are being lied to? Why would anyone assume they are being lied to and go look up the truth?

[m52nickerson]

Why would people go looking for information when they are being fed all of it without effort? How are people supposed to know they are being lied to? Why would anyone assume they are being lied to and go look up the truth?

Why?  Simply because people should be smart enough not to trust everything they are fed.  Unfortunately we know that is not true, a bunch of Nigerian princes can attest to that.  Again in the end who's ultimate fault is that?  You know the saying, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.