President Obama Calls for a Constitutional Amendment to Overturn the Citizens United Decision
President Obama recently did an “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) session on the popular website, Reddit.com. The site is an aggregator of content as well as an online community.
One of the questions that the president received had to do with the influence of money in politics:
“What are you going to do to end the corrupting influence of money in politics during your second term?”
The president said that the problem with politics now is that we have a system with a “no-holds barred flow of seven- and eight-figure checks” to super-PACs that are designed to influence the political process. The president says that the money coming in threatens to undermine the voice of regular citizens in the political process.
In response, President Obama pushed for an amendment to the US Constitution that reverses the 2010 Citizens United Decision handed down by the Supreme Court. The decision allowed corporations to be treated like regular citizens, thus allowing them to spend unlimited funds to secure election results.
Others in the Obama camp have shared the president’s view of Citizens United. David Axelord, a senior campaign strategist, said that the Obama Administration “will use whatever tools out there, including a constitutional amendment” to get Citizens United overturned. “When the Koch brothers can spend $400 million, more than the McCain campaign and the Republican Party spent last time, that’s very concerning.”
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