How to Put a Stop to Corporate-Funded Government Before It Gets Totally Out of Hand

Editor’s note: Sign the petition urging Congress to address the unlimited corporate campaign spending ushered in by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling here.

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Think Progress article by Faiz Shakir, Amanda Terkel, Benjamin Armbruster, Zaid Jilani, Alex Seitz-Wald, Charlie Eisenhood, Tanya Somanader, and George Zornick

In an activist 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court struck down a decades-long ban on the use of corporate money in elections with its ruling in the Citizens United case in January, opening the floodgates to unlimited, anonymous spending on political campaigns by corporations, unions, and advocacy organizations. Reactions were swift, as many voices joined the dissenting justices in expressing concern that the ruling "threatens to undermine the integrity of elected institutions across the nation." Lawmakers quickly set to work on a bill, unveiled in April with bipartisan support, designed to mitigate the negative effects of the Supreme Court decision. The legislation -- called the DISCLOSE (Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections) Act -- seeks to secure transparency in the electoral process through provisions holding corporations to a number of disclosure rules. President Obama called it the "toughest-ever disclosure requirements for election-related spending by big oil corporations, Wall Street and other special interests...trying to buy representation in our government." The Sunlight Foundation, a government watchdog group, said the bill would "shine a powerful light on...corporate political expenditures." However, corporate lobbyists and many leading Republicans, who cheered the Citizens United decision as a victory for First Amendment rights, called the DISCLOSE Act an attack, as U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue put it, on "constitutionally protected speech." However, as Justice John Paul Stevens wrote in his dissent, "While American democracy is imperfect, few outside the majority of this Court would have thought its flaws included a dearth of corporate money in politics." Indeed, new polling from MoveOn.org shows that 77 percent of voters in 18 battleground congressional districts and 4 battleground states think that "corporate election spending is an attempt to bribe politicians;" only 19 percent consider it free speech. And 79 percent believe it's important that a candidate commit to reducing the influence of corporations over elections.

TARGET TARGETED: Last month, news broke that the retailer Target had taken advantage of the Citizens United ruling, donating $150,000, more than the company had given all year to federal campaigns and causes, to help Minnesota GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer, who wants to cut waiters' minimum wage and opposes same-sex marriage. The donation, given to MN Forward, a Republican-leaning political action committee (PAC) in Minnesota, was only made known when existing campaign finance laws required the PAC to file financial reports. Target has come under fire from progressive and gay rights organizations for its support of Emmer. The company, "one of the largest sponsors of LGBT events around Minnesota each year," has been viewed by LGBT groups in the past "as progressive on gay issues." Twin Cities Pride, an LGBT organization in Minneapolis/St. Paul, is now "reviewing its partnership with Target" in light of its political action. Hundreds of thousands of people have signed petitions boycotting the company until it stops spending money on elections. Feeling the pressure, Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel apologized to his employees earlier this week. "While I firmly believe that a business climate conducive to growth is critical to our future," Steinhafel said, "I realize our decision affected many of you in a way I did not anticipate, and for that I am genuinely sorry." The backlash against Target may quell other corporations' forays into political spending. "Publicly traded companies have always had a difficult time engaging in partisan politics. In this case, Target has shown that a retail company can be particularly subject to controversy and pressure. It will have the impact of discouraging some companies from political involvement," former Minnesota Republican congressman Vin Weber said. Consumers and employees only held Target accountable because their donation was disclosed under campaign finance laws. The incident thus highlights the importance of legislation like the DISCLOSE Act that seeks to prevent anonymous unhampered spending.