Exxon Is Now A Person

The Supreme Court has spoken. In a 5-4 decision, the court has established that corporations and unions have the same free speech rights as a person under the first amendment of the constitution. They are now free to use their considerable wealth to openly influence elections. Remember all that clatter about "activist judges legislating from the bench"? Well, that's exactly what they did. The supreme court threw out a 63 year old law designed to restrain the influence of big business and unions on elections. The court overturned two of its own decisions as well, and threatens similar limits by 24 states. The basis for the ruling was that not allowing this "speech" to corporations was a form of censorship. "The censorship we now confront is vast in its reach," said Justice Kennedy. Justice Stevens, in dissenting, said,"The court's ruling threatens to undermine the integrity of elected institutions around the nation". "It's the Super Bowl of bad decisions," said the president of Common Cause. Ads will now be allowed to run right up to the moment of an election and allow them to call for the election or defeat of a candidate as well as an issue. The loudest voices will be those with the most money. And you thought it was bad now?