Senate Democrats Begin Their Push To Amend The Constitution To Kill Citizens United

Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 01:38 pm

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Senate Democrats are moving ahead with their plan to bring a resolution to the floor that amend the Constitution and kill Citizens United.

The resolution (SJ 19) states in part:

“Section 1. To advance the fundamental principle of political equality for all, and to protect the integrity of the legislative and electoral processes, Congress shall have power to regulate the raising and spending of money and in-kind equivalents with respect to Federal elections, including through setting limits on–

“(1) the amount of contributions to candidates for nomination for election to, or for election to, Federal office;

and

“(2) the amount of funds that may be spent by, in support of, or in opposition to such candidates.

“Section 2. To advance the fundamental principle of political equality for all, and to protect the integrity of the legislative and electoral processes, each State shall have power to regulate the raising and spending of money and in-kind equivalents with respect to
State elections…

The resolution’s sponsor Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) is pushing for a vote on the Senate floor before November. The odds of this resolution getting required support of both 2/3 of the House and Senate are virtually nil, but the point isn’t to successfully amend the Constitution right now.

Democrats and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders are trying to call attention to the issue. Proposing a constitutional amendment is a way to get people to discuss the issue of Citizens United, and the right-wing billionaires who are attempting to purchase control of the government.

Republicans are outraged by the amendment, and they are echoing Mitch McConnell’s cries that it represents the death of the First Amendment, but what they are really concerned about is their main pipeline of campaign funds being cut off.

Outside groups have already spent $100 million in 2014, and the majority of the spending has been done by conservatives.Republicans are terrified that the American people will someday ask where all of this money is coming from, and what the are people giving the millions expecting in return?

A more realistic option for getting rid of Citizens United remains a change on the Supreme Court. With two years left in President Obama’s term, a victory by Democrats in 2016 would mean that a Democratic president would likely shift the tilt in the court with future Supreme Court appointments.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

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Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association