In the Sept. 22 Political Beat column ” ‘Dark money’ haunts politics,” Lauren Dake states that Citizens United “removed restrictions on how much money corporations could contribute to campaigns.” I’ve read the decision, and I don’t think this statement is accurate.
A more precise summary was offered by George Will in his column “Democratic senators try to muzzle speech” on Sept. 14: “(Citizens United) left in place the ban on corporate contributions to candidates. It said only that Americans do not forfeit their speech rights when they band together to express themselves on political issues through corporations, which they generally do through nonprofit advocacy corporations (e.g., the Sierra Club and NRA).”
Will criticized the attempt by 48 Democratic senators to introduce, by constitutional amendment, something that has never been done before — limits on First Amendment political speech. Whether I agree with their position or not, every person and group has a right to express their opinion on political issues. Will correctly labeled these senators as the “real extremists.”
Rick Hauser
Battle Ground
