Litigation

Citizens United Behind Legislative, Confirmation Strategies

By Peter Hardin

The Supreme Court’s blockbuster Citizens United ruling lies at the heart of dual political strategies apparently unfolding in Washington that may dominate the headlines this summer:

• Democrats are close to introducing legislation that would require new levels of disclosure by private companies and groups. They would have to reveal their financial role in political campaigns and advertising, a New York Times article reported.
• The Obama administration and congressional allies are “gravitating” toward a strategy for the confirmation of a successor to Justice John Paul Stevens that portrays the high court majority as “trampling the rights of average Americans” and depicts a “corporations-vs.-the-common battle,” according to a Politico article.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told Politico he expected to hear people say, “‘Do you share our concern about the fact that the court always seems to side with the big corporate interests against the average American?’” Leahy added, “I think there’s going to be more of the public realizing they really do have a stake in who’s on the Supreme Court.”

As for long-awaited legislation responding to the widely unpopular, 5-4 Citizens United ruling, a New York Times editorial underscored this week the importance of passing a robust new disclosure law:

“To avoid an unbridled flood of cash in this year?s elections, Congress must impose full transparency on precisely where the money comes from ? so corporations and unions can no longer hide behind euphemistic labels to finance candidate drives.”

Pointing toward the role Citizens United may play in White House confirmation strategy was senior Obama adviser David Axelrod. He said:

“The justice [Obama] appoints will be a pivotal voice on this court on issues like, for example, the one we just saw, Citizens United, where the court ruled that corporations have the same First Amendment rights as individuals and they basically sanctioned a corporate takeover of our elections.”

Citizens United removed key restraints and permits unlimited corporate spending to boost or oppose political candidates. You can learn more about Citizens United from Gavel Grab and from Justice at Stake?s amicus brief in the case or press release about the decision.

In Slate, election law expert Richard Hasen suggested that Obama is positioning himself for a 2012 re-election bid by floating the idea of Justice Antonin Scalia retiring after that election. “It wouldn’t hurt the president if the court soon decided a few more 5-4 unpopular decisions, so that the stakes of a conservative Justice retirement are ever clearer to Obama’s supporters on the left,” Hasen wrote.

Full post as published by The Gavel on April 13, 2010 (boomark / email).