Subject: [big campaign] Bank of America or America of the Banks?
From: Adam Lioz <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 2010 09:47:31 -0700
List-Id: <bigcampaign.googlegroups.com>

**

* *

*For Immediate Release: January 21, 2010*

*Contact: Adam Lioz, 202.251.8519
                *

*Bank of America or America of the Banks?***

*Supreme Court Gives Wall Street Banks, Wal-Mart, and other Large
Corporations*

* Green Light to Buy Elections*

*Washington, DC/Denver, CO:* For more than sixty years federal law has
banned corporations from spending their treasury funds directly on
elections.  With today’s decision in *Citizens United v. FEC*, the Roberts
Court turned back the clock.  Campaign reform advocates say this sets the
stage for a deluge of corporate money in politics, and threatens to upend
the role of citizens as the central force in our democracy.

Progressive Future launched a letter to President Obama and Congress today,
which reads “No more Supreme Court justices who believe corporations have
the same rights as citizens!”  People can sign the letter at
https://www.progressivefuture.org/citizens-united.

*Progressive Future Program Director Adam Lioz issued the following
statement:*

* *

“Thanks to the Roberts Court, mega-banks that are using billions of our
bailout dollars for obscene bonuses can now use our money to help place
their hand-picked candidates into the halls of power.

We’ve seen what happens when Wall Street is accountable to no one.  Now
we’ll see what happens when our elected representatives are directly
accountable to Wall Street.

* *

*Bank of America should serve its customers and stay out of politics.  But,
today’s decision could turn us into an America of the Banks, where our
elected officials serve huge corporations instead of ordinary citizens.*

* *

The corporation that sells the most widgets shouldn’t get to pick the next
president.  But today the Roberts Court paved the way for huge conglomerates
to use their vast wealth to drown out the voices of ordinary citizens.

Through lobbying, corporate PACs, and massive advertising budgets,
corporations already exert too much influence on American politics.  Today’s
ruling guts one of the last remaining bulwarks of citizen power.

Can Goldman Sachs walk into a polling place and vote for a U.S. senator?  Of
course not, so why should we let big banks, or other corporations, have even
more influence over who represents us, by spending unlimited money to put
company-owned candidates into elected office?

Health insurance companies spent $641,000 every day lobbying against reform
in Congress.  Now, for a few days’ expense, they can fund high-dollar
campaigns to put their executives and advocates directly into Congress.  Who
needs lobbying when your cronies control the levers of power?

This decision is a slap in the face to ordinary citizens, and a victory for
the Chamber of Commerce and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who filed
briefs calling for today’s result.

WellPoint Insurance and other corporations don’t have the same rights as
citizens.  The vast majority of Americans agree.  Unfortunately five members
of the Supreme Court take another view.”

Lioz noted that today’s decision overrules not just 2003’s *McConnell v. FEC
* and 1990’s *Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce*, but also contravenes
the logic of a *unanimous *1982 decision upholding Congress’ right to
regulate the political activity of corporations differently than that of
individual citizens (*FEC v. National Right to Work Committee*).

Progressive Future’s analysis of the *Citizens United v. FEC* decision is
available here<https://www.progressivefuture.org/blog/supreme-court-gives-wall-street-banks-and-other-corporations-green-light-to-buy-elections>
.

*Progressive Future promotes progressive values through grassroots action.  The
organization works for long-term progress on core progressive priorities
through public education, issue advocacy and electoral organizing online and
in neighborhoods across America.*
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