To: Rep. Michael Simpson (ID-2), Sen. Michael Crapo (ID-1), and Sen. James Risch (ID-2)
Protect the integrity of elections
We support a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizen United, and to limit political spending by corporations and unions, so they are not allowed to spend money that individuals cannot match. A constitutional amendment is needed to protect the integrity of elections, and the voice of the people, from being drowned by money-power.
Why is this important?
I am dismayed by the ability of special interests and their lobbyists to undermine the influence of average Americans, and control information broadcasted to the public. When we allow special interests to spend money individuals can’t match, we implicitly give them permission to drown out the voice of the public, creating an imbalance in the electoral debate.
Citizens United vs. FEC Supreme Court decision overturned over a century of precedent and opened the floodgates for unlimited amounts of corporate money to flow into our political system. With the Citizens United decision, large corporations have the power to spend unlimited amounts of money from their general treasuries to buy elections. What's more, Citizen United opened loopholes that allow corporations to hide their campaign expenditures by laundering the money through non-profit advocacy organizations.
We need a government of, for and by the people. We need a constitutional amendment to undo the worst aspects of the Citizens United decision.
Citizens United vs. FEC Supreme Court decision overturned over a century of precedent and opened the floodgates for unlimited amounts of corporate money to flow into our political system. With the Citizens United decision, large corporations have the power to spend unlimited amounts of money from their general treasuries to buy elections. What's more, Citizen United opened loopholes that allow corporations to hide their campaign expenditures by laundering the money through non-profit advocacy organizations.
We need a government of, for and by the people. We need a constitutional amendment to undo the worst aspects of the Citizens United decision.