Citizens Oppose U.S. Supreme Court Decision

The U.S. Supreme Court seems to have gotten one wrong, at least when it comes to the court of public opinion. A Washington Post-ABC News Poll shows an overwhelming majority of Americans oppose the high court’s Jan. 21 decision to remove restrictions on corporate political spending.  Even in this day of bitter partisan politics, which has resulted in at least one senator to leave politics, opposition to the decision runs across all party lines. As a result, momentum is growing in Congress to produce legislation that would minimize the impact of the decision.

In a statement, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), who is leading the legislative charge, said “If there’s one thing that Americans from the left, right and center can all agree on, it’s that they don’t want more special interests in our politics.

“We hope we can get strong and quick bipartisan support for our legislation, which passes constitutional muster but will effectively limit the influence of special interests.”

Among the legislation’s notable proposals, which is being co-written by Rep. Charles Van Hollen (D-MD), are that limits would be placed on how much foreign-owned companies or those with federal contracting ties could spend on elections.

The poll and latest politicking comes following the high court’s 5-4 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission on Jan 21. The ruling states corporations have the same rights to political speech as individuals and therefore could use profits to support or oppose individual candidates.