Excerpt: "This is not democracy. This is plutocracy. And that is why we must overturn Citizens United."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), 03/28/11. (photo: Getty Images)
Of the Rich, By the Rich, For the Rich
26 June 12
he Supreme Court on Monday reaffirmed its disastrous 2010 ruling that lifted limits on corporate spending to influence elections. Justices reversed the Montana Supreme Court and struck down a state law. "The U.S. Supreme Court's absurd 5-4 ruling two years ago in Citizens United was a major blow to American democratic traditions. Sadly, despite all of the evidence that Americans see every day, the court continues to believe that its decision makes sense," Sanders said.
"In recent weeks, multi-billionaires such as the Koch brothers and Sheldon Adelson have made it clear that, as a result of the Citizens United decision, they intend to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to buy this election for candidates who support the super-wealthy. This is not democracy. This is plutocracy. And that is why we must overturn Citizens United if we are serious about maintaining the foundations of American democracy.
"I intend to work as hard as I can for a constitutional amendment to overturn this disastrous Supreme Court decision.
"In his famous speech at Gettysburg during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln talked about America as a country ‘of the people, by the people and for the people.' Today, as a result of the Supreme Court's refusal to reconsider its decision in Citizens United, we are rapidly moving toward a nation of the super-rich, by the super-rich and for the super-rich. That is not what America is supposed to be about. This Supreme Court decision must be overturned."
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