Ending Citizens' United and Hillary Clinton...

I don't quite remember what turned me on to the "End Citizens' United PAC," but I signed up some months (maybe years?) ago. I have been getting emails from them for quite some time. Over the course of this election season, the emails have been moving to more partisan Democrat in nature. I accepted that because it is primarily Democrats who want to end that ruling. After the email I received today, I had to unsubscribe. I received an email soliciting donations for...Hillary Clinton.

Bobby,

Almost a decade ago, I learned that a film called “Hillary: The Movie” was being released by a conservative group called Citizens United. It took aim at me and other progressives. What we didn’t know at the time was how much damage this 90-minute film would do to our country -- because the movie set in motion a legal roller coaster that affected our entire democracy.

Citizens United -- a special interest group -- argued that the First Amendment protected their right to spend unlimited money to influence the outcome of elections. The case made its way to the Supreme Court. And on January 21, 2010, the Court handed down its landmark ruling, "Citizens United v. FEC," clearing the way for special interest groups to bankroll campaigns.

In the years since, we’ve seen the aftermath of that decision. Let’s be frank: that ruling has perverted and poisoned our campaign finance system. It has stifled the voices of ordinary Americans. Instead, it has amplified the opinions and interests of corporations and billionaires.

Bobby, I used to teach law students -- and nowhere in the Constitution does it say that corporations and wealthy special interests have the right to control our elections. A Fortune 500 CEO should not have more sway ​over an election than an elementary school teacher.

That’s why, as your president, I will work tirelessly to put in place a constitutional amendment reversing that Supreme Court decision. I'll put that process in motion within the first month of my tenure in the Oval Office.

But I need your help to get there.

[Donations buttons were here]

We cannot have people like the Koch brothers buying our elections. We need to work as hard as we can, for as long as we must, to protect the sanctity -- and transparency -- of our democratic process.

You understand that. And that’s part of the reason I’m so honored to have End Citizens United’s endorsement. You know the power of a grassroots movement. And you get that our foremothers and forefathers would be sick at the thought that -- in 2016! -- a few players at the top of the pyramid hold so much of our nation’s political power.

Our opponent in this election is on the side of the billionaires. Can you chip in $5 now to my campaign and help me transform our broken campaign finance system?

DONATE NOW >>

http://act.endcitizensunited.org/Hillary-for-America

Thank you for standing with me.

As your president, I promise -- I'll stand with you, too.

Hillary

I recognize that Hillary Clinton was at the heart of the CU case. But it is funny to me that the person who was targeted is the same person that benefits the most from this absurd ruling.

I also know that Hillary has promised to propose a Constitutional Amendment to overturn Citizens' United, but as many of the people here acknowledge, when it comes to progressive issues, she is all hot air. That is not to say that she won't actually propose a Constitutional Amendment, she very well might. But the problem with this, and the email solicitation that I received, is that it is nothing more than rhetoric to fool progressives who think that Citizens' United is poisonous to a democratic society (which it is) and that Hillary Clinton will do significant heavy lifting to overturn it. Hillary Clinton, and her handlers, knows that a Constitutional Amendment overturning CU will never, ever happen. There is a reason that there are only 27*** of them, the bar is simply too high, especially when you consider the bought-and-paid for government that would have to ratify such an amendment. She knows that she can say this and suffer no consequences. Just like her rhetoric on the banks, trade, etc; the people who are in the industries effected by this know the truth, she is not sincere. They know she has to say this so they can keep one of their allies in the White House. I roll my eyes every time I hear her talking about overturning CU given how much money from her rich allies have flowed into her campaign coffers.

In response to this, I wrote the PAC a message when I unsubscribed:

Once it became clear to me that Hillary Clinton would be the Democratic Party's nominee for President, I disavowed any and all association with the party. And while I support overturning Citizens United, I oppose the neo-liberal economic policies, neo-conservative foreign policies, charter school advocacy, and other traditionally Republican Party policies that a Hillary Clinton administration will bring. The very idea that I am now getting emails from a candidate that massively benefits from Citizens United is a disgusting joke. Please remove me from the email list.

As I alluded to in my message to them, this PAC is nothing more than an arm of the Democratic Party. And since I am not a Democrat, I won't be affiliated with anything that tries to sell me that the party intends to do anything on my behalf because we all know that they won't.

***Edited to reflect the correct number of amendments to the Constitution. I had originally stated 25.

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WindDancer13's picture

a constitutional amendment. Smoke screen.

The Constitution provides that an amendment may be proposed either by the Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the State legislatures. None of the 27 amendments to the Constitution have been proposed by constitutional convention. The Congress proposes an amendment in the form of a joint resolution. Since the President does not have a constitutional role in the amendment process, the joint resolution does not go to the White House for signature or approval.

And I am sure that the Republicans and corporate Democrats after seeing how well it did for HRC are going to be wiling to give up their shot at using it as she did.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

cardboardurinal's picture

is also supposed to originate in the House, but the President seems to do that now. So while technically correct, the President does have the power to move the conversation forward.

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WindDancer13's picture

the she will propose an amendment which is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. Rather surprising that the Republicans have not pointed that out. As for having a conversation about it, yeah, right.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.--Aristotle
If there is no struggle there is no progress.--Frederick Douglass

cardboardurinal's picture

That it is smoke and mirrors. That is her entire campaign though.

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MsGrin's picture

They LOVE Citizens United.
(Although I'd argue it got them stuck with Trump this year because of waaaay too much money in politics)

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'What we are left with is an agency mandated to ensure transparency and disclosure that is actually working to keep the public in the dark' - Ann M. Ravel, former FEC member

mhagle's picture

#NeverHillary

I have actually unsubscribed from them many times and they keep coming back.

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Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

detroitmechworks's picture

What other group can I think of that hides where they are getting their money, and who the money actually goes to, and what their motivations and final objectives actually are?

Oh yeah. Crime Families.

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

riverlover's picture

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Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.

cardboardurinal's picture

see that. I didn't actually read beyond the first couple paragraphs.

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MsGrin's picture

Do as I say, not as I do.
Grrrrrr.

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'What we are left with is an agency mandated to ensure transparency and disclosure that is actually working to keep the public in the dark' - Ann M. Ravel, former FEC member

Sister Havana's picture

I'm on their email list too - I suspect they got my email address from the DCCC or some other list. I will never give them a penny. All you have to do is look at their congressional endorsements. With a few exceptions (Russ Feingold, Zephyr Teachout, Keith Ellison, Jan Schakowsky, and a couple more), most of their endorsed candidates are very conservative Democrats - the ones who vote with the Republicans more often than not. (The only one of that group missing is Collin Peterson.)

Howie Klein at Down With Tyranny has written quite a bit about them. Read this from Danny Goldberg at The American Prospect too.

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cardboardurinal's picture

I am glad that I rarely give money to anyone. Bernie and Russ Feingold are the only politicians I have ever given to in my life.

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elenacarlena's picture

insincere, ending Citizens United has to be #1. If Hillary ends Citizens United, I'll eat my old shoe.

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it will be because she found something even more insidious and destructive to our body politic that she could exploit to further her political ambitions and consolidate her power. With the Clintons, it's always one step forward, two steps back. Notice that many of Obama's biggest accomplishments were undoing the discriminatory actions that Slick Willie enacted as president, like DOMA and Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

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snoopydawg's picture

We cannot have people like the Koch brothers buying our elections. We need to work as hard as we can, for as long as we must, to protect the sanctity -- and transparency -- of our democratic process.

So it's not okay for the Koch brothers to buy our election but it is okay for the banks, corporations and the elites to buy it?
And of course her bots continue to state that Hillary is going to overturn CU.
And all of the other things she has promised that she will do.
They have conveniently forgotten that she said that universal health care will never, ever happen.
They actually believe that she changed her mind on the TPP, student loans, free college and all the other flip flops.
I am amazed at how so many intelligent people buy into what she tells them.
They will see after she is elected what they are going to actually get from her.
I read an article on common dreams how some senators have written her a letter basking her not to appoint Wall Street industry insiders to her cabinet.
Anyone believe that she won't?

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Voting is like driving with a toy steering wheel.