Washington, DC — Citizens United President David N. Bossie released the following statement following the defeat of S.J. Res. 19, a proposed constitutional amendment by Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico that would have overturned the landmark Supreme Court case Citizens United v. FEC. “The First Amendment is preserved yet again, ensuring all Americans are […]
In a rare television appearance, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia defended the Court’s controversial decision in Citizens United, calling political donations a form of speech. Justices don’t traditionally comment on cases that are pending or the Court just ruled on, leaving the high court’s decisions on the Obama administration health care law and Arizona’s immigration […]
On the day we received word that consumer spending fell for the third straight month, Harry Reid’s obsession with the DISCLOSE Act was on full display in the United States Senate. Like in 2010, the DISCLOSE Act failed in the U.S. Senate today because it is a fatally flawed bill that chills free speech. Last […]
CU President David Bossie answers the Debate Club question: Campaign Finance Disclosure Is a Burden That Restricts Independent Speech Proponents of disclosure argue that it is necessary to provide important information to voters. In reality, the information provided does little if anything to enlighten a voter. The current disclosure regime requires federal political committees to […]
During this Congress, there have been at least 11 resolutions filed by Democrat lawmakers calling to amend the Constitution because of the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. The Federal Election Commission. All of these amendments will chill free speech and would make the Founders cringe. As President of Citizens United, I find it […]
Today Senator Chuck Schumer of New York is introducing “DISCLOSE Act 2.0,” which will have the same failed outcome as the original DISCLOSE Act. DISCLOSE Act 2.0 is written to chill free speech and only serves the purpose of making sure incumbents are reelected. I guess Chuck Schumer only cares about the retention of the […]
Today’s Wall Street Journal points out “Campaign-finance scolds denounce the system they created”: In the common media wisdom, super PACs are a result of the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling. This is said to have created a “loophole” that the super PACs have exploited to evade campaign-finance restrictions on the money that candidates can […]
Almost two years ago Citizens United succeeded in its lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission. In this groundbreaking case the Supreme Court made clear that the First Amendment, at its core, protects political speech, regardless of the speaker’s identity. Our victory has been subject to numerous unwarranted attacks. President Obama used the decision to attack […]
Gene Policinski of the First Amendment Center effectively tackles the problems with Reps. John Conyers and Donna Edwards’ proposed amendment to overturn our Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC: …Few likely would debate the motive that Conyers and Edwards say is behind the proposed amendment: fair elections, honest government. But good intentions don’t […]
Citizens United v. FEC remains an enigma to the liberal New York Times in “Citizens United Case Yields an Unexpected Result” but they do get this right: … Citizens United takes the libertarian view that people may be trusted to evaluate the messages they hear and need not be sheltered from the responsibility of critical […]
First Amendment attorneys Steve Simpson and Paul Sherman point out the unintentional comedy of Stephen Colbert’s failed attempts to mock Citizens United v. FEC. …”Why does it get so complicated to do this? I mean, this is page after page of legalese,” Mr. Colbert lamented. “All I’m trying to do is affect the 2012 election. […]
Great article by Jed Babbin on how President Obama is trying to skirt Citizens United v. FEC and politicize the federal contracting process: Congressional Dems responded with an effort to overturn the Citizens United decision legislatively with the so-far un-passed “DISCLOSE” Act, which would have restricted undisclosed donors who aren’t unions and other reliable sources […]