David Bossie is head of Citizens United, the folks involved in the Supreme Court decision that’s allowing corporations to spend money on elections in an unfettered fashion. In an interview with TPM, Bossie offered a statement that succinctly sums up the state of affairs in American government:
“The Supreme Court said that money is speech,” Bossie said. “In this day and age, in order to fully participate and have your First Amendment rights, you have to be able to spend money.”
And there you have it. That’s probably the only time he’ll ever sound like a liberal. The vast majority of us who do not have sufficient currency to rustle near the ears of twitchy legislators can, apparently, get stuffed. We don’t have our First Amendment rights. I’m all in favor of the Enlightenment experiment that spawned this country, but it’s hard to believe in the idea of self-governance when notions like that are enshrined by the Supreme Court.
We no longer possess government by the people, but government by the people with money. I guess if we scrap together enough cash, we non-CEOs can fight back.
Oh, and Bossie also says he’s enjoying liberal “bitching and moaning” about the Citizens United decision. It’s almost a case of “let them eat cake,” but it’s rather more like “We got cake. Don’t you wish you did? Now f— off.”
UPDATE: Okay, fine, I’ve changed my mind. Corporations do indeed need a leg up in order to equal the unparalleled access to the legislative process that we hardy Murcan individuals possess. I’d better call up my buddies Brown and Kerry (can you believe he shoots 4 under par regularly?!?) so we can sit down over lunch to chat about it. Maybe they can pencil me in between all the other citizens.
Or we could try this (courtesy the fine parodists of The Onion):
WASHINGTON—Citing a desire to gain influence in Washington, the American people confirmed Friday that they have hired high-powered D.C. lobbyist Jack Weldon of the firm Patton Boggs to help advance their agenda in Congress.
Known among Beltway insiders for his ability to sway public policy on behalf of massive corporations such as Johnson & Johnson, Monsanto, and AT&T, Weldon, 53, is expected to use his vast network of political connections to give his new client a voice in the legislative process.
Weldon is reportedly charging the American people $795 an hour.
…
“His daily presence in the Capitol will ensure the American people finally get a seat at the table,” the statement continued. “And it will allow him to advance our message that everyone, including Americans, deserves to be represented in Washington.”
The true problem here, nattering to the contrary notwithstanding, is that if money equals speech, some of us have more rights than others by virtue of the size of our bank accounts. Perhaps there are a lot of people like Bossie who think that’s just fine, but it seems highly unlikely that anyone without a great deal of speech-money* is going to sign on to that absurdity.
* “I’ll see your plosive and raise you two fricatives and a dipthong.”
