Thursday, January 21, 2010

SCOTUS ruling allows corporations to spend unlimied funds for federal candidates.

Thinkprogress:

During the 2008 presidential campaign, the conservative group Citizens United made a movie critical of Hillary Clinton but was barred from distributing it on local cable systems because federal courts said it “looked and sounded like a long campaign ad, and therefore should be regulated like one.” The Supreme Court then took up the case and in its much-anticipated decision, today ruled 5-4 to allow corporations and unions to spend unlimited funds in support for, or opposition of, federal candidates. The monumental ruling throws out a “a 63-year-old law designed to restrain the influence of big business and unions on elections.

Update: The five conservative judges -- Alito, Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, and Thomas, ruled for Citizens United. The four liberal judges -- Stevens, Breyer, Ginsburg, and Sotomayor, made up the minority.

Update 2: Here's the decision:U.S. Supreme Court Campaign-Finance Ruling

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