Citizens uniting against <em>Citizens United</em>

Two years later, unlimited corporate cash poisoning democracy

January 21, 2012 is the second anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC that corporations are people, money is speech, and corporations have the right to spend as much of their money as they like to influence elections.

Corporations like oil giant Exxon Mobil, the Koch brothers' Georgia Pacific, and Art Pope's Variety Wholesalers can launder money from their corporate treasuries through organizations like Americans for Prosperity and American Crossroads to try to buy judges, ballot referendums, and legislatures from Raleigh to Washington, DC.

Actual, flesh-and-blood persons, most of us working people with limited income and without an army of lobbyists, want our democracy to work for We the People, not just Wall Street, corporate CEOs, and the top 1%.

While the voices of the 99% "are being drowned out by excessive corporate spending and influence," said AFL-CIO president, Rich Trumka, the resistance to corporate tyranny is growing:

"Since the Citizens United ruling came down, and particularly since the rise of the Occupy Wall Street movement, we’ve seen growing momentum in support of public policy solutions aimed at curbing excessive corporate influence and restoring greater balance in our political process.  From initiatives to bring about greater transparency and disclosure of spending by corporate interests and their wealthy donors, to calls for a constitutional amendment abolishing corporate “personhood,” people from coast to coast have sounded the alarm about the need for reforms to rein in excessive corporate influence in our democracy."

Closing the floodgates of unlimited corporate spending on elections

Democracy is for people. Corporations are not people. Activists across the country are joining forces to mark the second anniversary of Citizens United with events Friday and Saturday. Actions like Occupy the Courts are happening at federal courthouses nationwide on Friday.

Occupy Raleigh announced in a press release that they will join with other local Occupy movements for 99+1 Drumming Out Citizens United:

On Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012 at 4:30pm, demonstrators will recognize the second anniversary of the Citizens United v. FEC ruling, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that expanded the “Corporate Personhood” doctrine and removed most limits on corporate financing of elections. Protestors will gather on Morgan St. facing the North Carolina Supreme Court building to hold a drum circle. Beating drums is intended to amplify the voice of the 99%, both literally and figuratively, as we protest the corrupt political system. Occupy supporters are appealing to North Carolina to follow the lead of the State of Montana, which recently defied Citizens United by upholding its “Corrupt Practices Act” – a 1912 law that limits corporations’ ability to influence elections within the State.

Click here for more information about 99+1 Drumming Out Citizens United.

Events like these build public awareness and support to amend the Constitution of the United States, the only way to undo the damage done by the Supreme Court in Citizens United.