As I tried to digest the unfathomable ruling of the US Supreme Court in Citizens United v. FEC I wondered if Abraham Lincoln would recognize his party today. Sorry Mr. President, but government: of the people, by the people, for the people, has perished from the earth. It was sold to the highest bidder last week by the firm of Roberts, Alito & Scalia. If Gettysburg was a new birth of freedom, Citizens United was its death. In one stroke the high court overturned a century of standing law. The GOP couldn't win the popular vote in the last two elections, so the high court pimped out the next one -- and many more to follow -- not only to the monolithic corporations on Wall Street, but foreign and multinational interests as well. (I somehow think that this isn't what the economists have in mind when they speak of "globalization".) They've set us up for years' worth of choices between the best candidates money can buy on both sides of the aisle. The Golden Rule has been rewritten to read "He who has the gold makes the rules".It would be bad enough if the Congress had passed such a law. It would take a Herculean effort, but such a law could be repealed, and its authors and proponents replaced in coming elections. But a Supreme Court ruling? Only another Supreme Court ruling can overturn that. Still, despite a reprehensible decision by the Bushisti on the bench, there are a few ways to limit the damage. Because (for the time being at least) Congress still holds the power to amend the Constitution. And there are a half dozen or so House Resolutions already under consideration that could offer some damage control. The image above is linked to a thumbnail of the more prominent ones. I won't say I think all of them are feasible, or even advisable. But do you want to live in a country where the three branches of government are Microsoft, Coca-Cola and Exxon/Mobil?Think about it.
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