Obama says free speech 'a blow to democracy'

Reuters:

President Barack Obama launched an extraordinary attack on the U.S. Supreme Court on Saturday, saying a ruling on corporate donations to political campaigns this week "strikes at democracy itself."

Obama's broadside was triggered by a 5-4 ruling by the court's justices on Thursday that removed long-standing campaign finance limits and allowed corporations to spend freely in campaigns for president and Congress. In the ruling, the court's conservative majority said the limits had violated corporations' constitutional right to free speech.

The ruling is expected to unleash a flood of money into this year's congressional elections. Obama's fellow Democrats face a struggle to retain control of the U.S. Congress amid voter unhappiness over double-digit unemployment, a record deficit, political gridlock in Washington and other matters.

"This ruling opens the floodgates for an unlimited amount of special interest money into our democracy," Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address.

"It gives the special interest lobbyists new leverage to spend millions on advertising to persuade elected officials to vote their way -- or to punish those who don't. This ruling strikes at democracy itself," Obama said.

...

I think this is misleading. The corporations can not contribute directly to campaigns but they can make their own independent expenditure for ads they see in their interest. I think what upsets politicians more than anything is that they are losing control of their message and theri opponents message. The people in the corporations no longer have to make contributions to people like Chuck Schumer to get their message out.

Of course, Obama has no problem with the NY Times Corporation spending its money to support candidates like him. It is non news corporations they have a problem with. They also seem to have a problem with News Corp too for that matter because it reports on conservative points of view.

But, to say that free speech is a blow to democracy is hyperbole at best and is ridiculous on its face.

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