In response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial 5-4 decision which allows corporations to spend unlimited amounts of their money on political ads, Congress is now proposing legislation which would require the corporations to identify who pays for the ads which are designed to sway public opinion of candidates running for office. The Court’s decision in January which changed legal precedents that had stood for decades triggered concern that companies would anonymously funnel unprecedented amounts of money to fund pro-business/anti-consumer campaigns.
The biggest business lobbying group in the nation is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce which spent $47 million on advertising in 2009 to defeat health care reform in addition to $144 million for lobbying. The Chamber plans to spend $50 million in this mid-term election year on candidate-focused ads alone. The proposed legislation forces disclosure of who is funding the ads which will allow voters to better understand who may benefit from the issue. The Court’s decision also invalidated the 2002 campaign finance laws which had the support of only four Republicans. Any new legislation would need the support of 60 Senators to shut off an expected Republican filibuster.
Why should we care? Because the ordinary citizen’s rights may be eroded or eliminated through heavily-funded, corporate-influenced political advertising who can now hide behind their veil of secrecy to promote legislation to their advantage. Pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers will be able to fund legislation to shield themselves from liability for their defective products. Liability insurance companies can support candidates who will push so-called “tort reform” to limit damages in everything from medical malpractice to punitive damages. Political campaign funding should be transparent so the American public knows who is contributing to a particular campaign and the reasons why they are doing so.
Richard J. Arsenault, 2011
