Yesterday's Supreme Court decision ending the ban on corporate spending in elections is a boon for Republicans. And, don't think for a second that politics was on the minds of Roberts, Alito, Scalia, Thomas and Kennedy. Supreme Court Justices are, after all, political appointees. (Lots of lawyers hate it when people say that, as if somehow becoming a judge erases one's past political leanings.)
The full impact of the decision will be felt in the hall of the U.S. Capitol and State Houses around the country. New York Times:
The Supreme Court on Thursday handed a new weapon to lobbyists. If you vote wrong, a lobbyist can now tell any elected official that my company, labor union or interest group will spend unlimited sums explicitly advertising against your re-election.That sounds like extortion, but that's what the Supreme Court gave us.
“We have got a million we can spend advertising for you or against you — whichever one you want,’ ” a lobbyist can tell lawmakers, said Lawrence M. Noble, a lawyer at Skadden Arps in Washington and former general counsel of the Federal Election Commission.
The Washington Post also highlights the "winners" from the Supreme Court decision:
The far-reaching ruling marks a triumph for those who have fought the McCain-Feingold provisions, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and numerous other business and conservative groups. It also overturns laws in two dozen states limiting corporate expenditures in local races.Your government is going to the highest bidder.
