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By Grant Bosse | New Hampshire Watchdog
Grant Bosse
In the movie “The Usual Suspects,” super villain Keyser Soze is the hidden mastermind of the criminal underworld, manipulating others to his evil ends while cloaking his identity and his very existence in the shadows.
It seems that the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision has taken on a similar reputation, making it responsible for everything that’s wrong with American politics.
Following Gov. Scott Walker’s big win in last week’s Wisconsin recall election, MSNBC’s Ed Schultz argued that Citizens United sent a message “that money has now infiltrated into our political system like we have never seen before” and claimed that Walker outspent Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett 7.5 to 1.
Arizona U.S. Sen. John McCain blamed the decision for the emergence of super PACs, third-party political groups that spend millions on campaign commercials independent of the candidates they support. “And why do we have the super PACs?” the Republicans asked ABC’s “This Week.” “Because of the ignorance and naivete of the United States Supreme Court in the Citizens United campaign.”
An editorial in last week’s Sunday Monitor called the Citizens United case “a pillow that’s smothering democracy” and cited the supposed fundraising advantage it gave Walker. These critics are not only wrong about what Citizens United really said, but they should support its actual impact.
Read the complete commentary at New Hampshire Watchdog
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