Why Josh Hawley’s current 'faux populist stunt' is bound to flop: analysis

31 October 2023

In 2010, the Supreme Court of the United States' Citizens United decision made way for corporations "to spend unlimited funds on elections," according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

Thirteen years later, Real Clear Politics reports U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) will "introduce legislation that would gut Citizens United v. FEC."

In a Tuesday MSNBC blog, writer Jordan Rubin notes, "At first glance, it seems strange for the right-wing lawmaker to press against the 5-4 conservative-majority ruling credited with unleashing dark money in politics."

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The GOP senator is siding with ex-President Barack Obama, who opposed the ruling during his first term — "albeit for very different reasons" RCP notes.

"I am an originalist," Hawley said Monday, according to the reports. "And I don't think you can make an originalist case for business corporations being treated like individuals when it comes to the right to political speech."

However, Rubin argues, "Hawley's faux populist stunt either legally can't go anywhere, politically won't go anywhere, won't work the true reform it implies if it does go anywhere, or all three."

He writes, "For one thing, overturning the decision requires the Supreme Court to do so, or a constitutional amendment. That's because the 2010 case was decided on constitutional grounds — under the First Amendment — as opposed to statutory grounds."

Supporting Rubin's argument, Real Clear Politics reports:

The Hawley legislation would ban publicly traded corporations from making independent expenditures and giving to Super PACs while prohibiting them from cutting political ads or engaging in 'other electioneering communications.' Ironically, however, it would not stop the conservative group that upended modern election law. Citizens United is itself a non-profit and, therefore, wouldn’t be affected.

Rubin emphasizes, "Safe to say, leaving nonprofits out of the equation wouldn't solve the dark money problem," pointing to last year's midterm elections when "the nonprofit One Nation donated $53.5 million to the GOP-aligned Senate Leadership Fund, the largest political contribution of any organization that election cycle."

Rubin's full blog is available at this link. Real Clear Politics' report is here.

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