Commentary by Representative Les Gara

Yesterday the United States Supreme Court did something so big that it even took that couple who broke into the White House party – and that 3D movie with the blue people – off the news radar.  For at least a minute.

If you thought the fight over who should be placed on the Supreme Court was only about abortion and social issues, you missed a bigger motive for some of the federal politicians who’ve pushed to appoint these guys.  Many partisan federal politicians have wanted to increase the influence of big corporations over your government.  Yesterday they won.  Yesterday they gave Exxon about $85 billion more in power than they left for you.

Technically, the five most radical members of the Supreme Court didn’t actually give away your political system to the biggest corporations in the world.  They only gave them an option to buy it.  Here’s what you missed if you were sane enough to skip the headlines and only read the comics yesterday.

The national ban, and Alaska’s ban, on large corporate contributions to influence elections were reversed yesterday by Justices Scalia, Thomas, Kennedy, Roberts and Alito, all appointees of Presidents Bush and Reagan.  It’s rare for a Supreme Court to reverse their own precedent, but that’s what they did.

Corporations can now spend as much as they want during an election, against a candidate they don’t want, or for one that they do want.  No state can maintain its prohibition against TV, radio and written ads that a corporation pays for.  Under the guise of giving corporations “equal” footing with you and me to “participate” in the political system, the Supreme Court gave them as much power as they can buy.  Corporations still can’t donate money directly to a candidate.  But how much does that matter if they can take out $1 million in ads against a good candidate, for a bad one?

The opinion is, in my humble view as a former Assistant Attorney General, an embarrassment.  It grants the same power to unions as well.  While I strongly support the right to organize a union, I like keeping a lid on money in politics.

Alaska’s ban and the federal McCain-Feingold ban on corporate contributions are now gone.  States and Congress will now have to re-write their laws.  And the new laws will have to allow Exxon, and every corporation, and other organization  in the nation, to spend as much as they want on attack ads, misleading ads, and ads that benefit their interests over yours.

[Source: Excerpted from a commentary by Representative Les Gara, on January 22, 2010]