Supreme Court was dangerously wrong

Every single art form, business venture, scientific study, invention, relationship and belief — all of these depend on words to help shape your understanding, communicate their worthiness, explain benefits and, above all, connect you to something other than yourself. There would be no society without words spoken between people. There would be no civilization without those words being written down and remembered, written down and relied upon as an understanding.

When the founders of this nation sat down, they started with these words: We The People. They did not say we the corporations, we the church, we the states, we the army, we the navy or we the nation — they spoke about, of and to the people by the people of this great nation.

The Constitution was written to be a document for individuals, to grant rights to individuals, to constrain the enemies of those people, to hear individual voices freely. Anything other than that was secondary and, if in conflict with the individual, contrary to the Constitution.

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The Supreme Court, bowing to abstract logic that individuals have the right to listen to everything as a way to maintain individuality, swapped individual right of speech to individual right to hear from everybody, every faction equally.

And yet, the Supreme Court has argued successfully that if a communist party wishes to denounce the United States in the middle of New York City, then the government has the right to shut them up. However, now any organization or corporation that wishes to denounce the United States can do so and, what’s more, they can spend money to promote political opposition to a candidate they do not like or, worse still, promote one they do.

Hate that member of the Senate Finance Committee for limiting your bonus? Spend the taxpayers’ money to get him thrown out of office. Want to fund a campaign in support of the anti-health reform senator (from Connecticut)?

If you are the CEO of a health insurance company, never mind what the employees think, if the board approves, spend as much money as you want. If you are the head of a union in support of doubling the basic wage, find your candidates and spend the members’ money. There is no longer any law to stop you.

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Imagine we are 30 years ago. Or, perhaps, we are this year. What is to stop, say, the Chinese  or Iranian government-backed companies from buying up all the free airtime on TV to make sure so-and-so candidate does not get re-elected to Congress? These are corporations, operating in America, either wholly or partially owned by foreign interests, but these are legal U.S. companies and, under the new Supreme Court ruling, cannot be prevented from spending, say, billions on TV commercials to make sure John McCain or Nancy Pelosi do not get re-elected, or that someone of their choosing does.

The media is worried about unions and special interests (like the NRA), but those organizations have always levied, rightly or wrongly but always out in the open, their might with dollars or membership messages to sway voters. But the mistaken Supreme Court decision allows companies free reign to spend where they want to and there is no provision in law or the Constitution to prevent bona-fide U.S. companies from secretly obeying foreign masters and shareholders.

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Want to stop the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee from hampering your desire to have another North Korean A-bomb facility? Spend your money through a U.S. corporation (does not matter which one, it could be a shoe factory making flip-flops) and make sure those pesky senators get thrown from office.

The Supreme Court’s decision not only upset the balance of electoral power. They have opened the floodgates to foreign interest who will, surely, seize the opportunity to sneak funds into the United States to pervert our very government.

Just as the Senate in ancient Rome allowed Goths the right to come to Rome and have a voice in government — and brought down the Roman Empire once and for all — so, too, the Supreme Court (bowing to their corporate masters) have thrown the constitutional individual baby out with their soiled bathwater.

Peter Riva, formerly of Amenia Union, lives in New Mexico.