Democratic Presidential Candidates Commit to Overturning Citizens United, But Is That Enough?

Here’s a good piece from The American Prospect on how Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have both committed to appointing Supreme Court justices who would overturn the odious and corrosive Citizens United decision.  You should read the entire piece, but here’s what seems to me to be the crucial section:

…preventing the wealthy from translating economic might directly into political power is a profound concern for a democracy that aims for an equal voice for all of its citizens, but tolerates considerable economic inequality.

We need the next generation of democracy-friendly justices to not just overturn Citizens United, but revisit Buckley, which is also the case that gave us the dubious principle that “money is speech.” More important, the Court needs to consider a broader set of values, beyond just clean governance, as compelling reasons to limit big money: from guaranteeing all Americans the opportunity for an equal voice in the political process to promoting government that’s accountable to voters, not just a few wealthy donors.

The ultimate goal should be an America where the strength of a citizen’s voice does not depend upon the size of her wallet. Overturning Citizens United is an important step in that direction.  But, to take a giant leap forward in our nation’s slow, halting drive towards truly equal citizenship for all, we’ll need to rethink what the Constitution really says about the power of the People to protect our democracy.

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