So, for those of you that may not be paying attention, the other day the Supreme Court ruled that corporations are protected under the First Amendment right of free speech and therefore had the right to SPEND AS MUCH MONEY AS THEY WANT IN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS. That's right, no limit. Our politicians can now be bought and there is nothing we can do about it. This is a major blow to Americans, and most of us don't even know it... because the corporate news networks barely covered it. Mentioned it in passing, maybe a bit of talk, and then went back to covering the Late Night wars between Conan and Leno.

So, for those of you that actually know what is going on, what are your thoughts? I think we are screwed. Because yeah, there is a chance that they won't use this newfound freedom to flood campaigns with special interest money... but really, do you think they won't? And who could stop them?

well, I don't think too much will ACTUALLY change...

cause let's be honest.... the last election was so full of donation "irregularities" that this will probably make the whole system more transparent because we'll actually know how much money is going to which candidate and from which company.

It's still not a good thing.... but I don't see it messing up the system any more than the system is already messed up

moving to someplace that has marijuana legal as soon as i am able.. so they can sell out all they want.. wont be affecting me none

This is why it's a good reason not to waste your money on any candidate when they run for office, let the corporations do it they are the ones with the money.

Plus the first amendment is a joke. They are just using it to to fool the public, when in reality the first amendment doesn't exist anymore because you can get prosecuted for saying the wrong things. There were tons examples of this during the DNC here. There was even an old lady who had a sign that wasn't saying anything bad and she got a ticket for it... the ticket was for trespassing can you believe that... just ridiculous.

Plus, it's not like the money will make much difference anyway since the media controls most the public. They are ultimately the ones who can make the bad guys look good and make the good guys look bad based on their agenda.

Sure corporations can buy out puppets, which they already have been doing, not much should change except for the fact that they have unlimited amounts of money to spend during a campaign.

There is one thing I think people are overlooking. It has nothing to do with money, it has everything to do with law. You said they are using the first amendment to make it legal well I believe THAT is the problem. When you give a corporations the "FREEDOM OF SPEECH" that means pretty much any entity can and will be corrupt in the way they do things.

For example, the government has the freedom of speech not to release information to the public because they have "the freedom of speech" not to mention it. That is what is dangerous especially if your in any kind of power.

Another thing that is quite interesting is you said they used "freedom of speech" when actually what they are doing is "freedom of action". Big difference there, they are getting away with not what they say but what they do. That's basically making it legel for corporations to kill innocent people and get away with it that is what it basically saying.

Chronabis, move to Colorado this place is like pot capital of usa

tobacco corps kill people every day.. but i guess those people arent so innocent anymore lol

Actually, the Freedom of Information Act ensures that unless it is classified information (like things still under investigation, troop movements, etc) the government MUST disclose any information asked for.

But yeah, the other big concern about this is, as Obama mentioned, the ability this gives foreign powers to influence our elections. Do you know what it takes to be an "American" corporation? Have the business registered in a US state. That's it. So some rich nut in Iran or where ever can pump money into our elections to get who he wants elected. I don't like that idea.

Politicians were getting bought off anyways, so clearly the law was ineffective. This just means they they no longer need to hide or disguise the donations. The impact will be minimal to nonexistant.