To: The United States Senate
Corporations are not people
Corporations currently control the political debate due to the overwhelming amount of money they are able to bring to bear, especially given the Citizens United decision.
Since the Citizens United decision was based upon the legal notion that corporations are people, and
since corporations are a legal fiction used to codify a social organization, and
since that legal fiction is codified in a set of laws and legal traditions,
therefore, these laws and traditions can be modified with new laws based upon new findings and circumstances.
That new law needs to constrain permissible corporate speech to advocacy of their products and services (advertising), and to illuminating the affects laws and regulations have on their businesses (lobbying), and specifically excluding any speech about particular candidates for office (financing political campaigns).
Since the Citizens United decision was based upon the legal notion that corporations are people, and
since corporations are a legal fiction used to codify a social organization, and
since that legal fiction is codified in a set of laws and legal traditions,
therefore, these laws and traditions can be modified with new laws based upon new findings and circumstances.
That new law needs to constrain permissible corporate speech to advocacy of their products and services (advertising), and to illuminating the affects laws and regulations have on their businesses (lobbying), and specifically excluding any speech about particular candidates for office (financing political campaigns).
Why is this important?
Many problems in campaign financing stem from corporations financing political campaigns. Their right to do so stems from them being considered "people" under the law. Laws can be changed.