Unchecked corporate power is a serious threat to the country's, and the planet's, future. I applaud the effort of two citizens, Laird and Robin Monohan, to draw attention to the ghastly absurdity known as "corporate personhood," which a Supreme Court ruling last January advanced.
Move To Amend recently issued a press release about the brothers' cross-country effort.
WASHINGTON, DC -- On October 20, Laird and Robin Monahan will cross the Arlington Memorial Bridge into Washington, DC, ending their historic cross-country walk. Their journey began on May 16, in San Francisco. After the 5-4 Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the brothers found themselves in agreement with the majority of Americans who opposed the ruling, which confirmed that "corporations are persons" and have the constitutional right of "free speech" under the First Amendment.
"It seemed to me that the Court had made a fraud of the Constitution. It made people second class citizens to corporations," said Laird Monahan.
The pair decided it was necessary to do something to draw attention to the decision, and the cross-country walk idea was born. Assisted by Move to Amend, the Committee to Legalize Democracy and others, the walk became a reality.
Upon leaving San Francisco, the brothers headed east along Highway 50, speaking along the way with local citizens and the media, demonstrating in front of state capitals, and connecting with grassroots groups in small towns and large cities across the country. (Read their blog and press accounts here.)
Friends and supporters will meet the brothers at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial at the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery near the Arlington Metro at 10 AM Wednesday, Oct. 20. From there, they will walk to the Lincoln Memorial for a rally headlined by the brothers at noon. At 1:30 PM, the assembly will march to the U.S. Capitol Building for a second rally to take place at 3 PM.
The Backbone Campaign is providing imagery support for the march and rally, including a 20-foot-by-210-foot "We the People Preamble" to the Constitution and large signs, which will be displayed in front of the U.S. Capitol and Supreme Court buildings. From 6 to 8 PM, a celebration and reception will take place at Busboys and Poets on 5th and K Streets.
But SCOTUS, acting on a precedent established surreptitiously in 1886, decided to circumvent any public debate on the subject and decreed, from the bench, a proclamation of such audacity that 80% of the American People would reject it in a moment. These five Justices, have violated over two hundred years of the court’s tradition of judicial restraint; that of addressing issues that had not been brought before them in a legal case. They took a simple case about accounting and told the litigants that it was about free speech and corporate personhood. This was unprecedented judicial hubris.
That decision has legalized the intimidation and bribery of our representatives.
Now! It is up to us. The footprints that Robin and I left in the dust must be renewed again and again. The people are only dimly aware of the seriousness of this crime against "We the People". We now stand in the shoes of Paul Revere, appointed by our own consciousness of our patriotic duty. We must wake the entire nation and battle against the tyrants who would steal our taxes and representation in our own government. I ask you all to look inward at the patriotic citizen inside and devote your own footsteps to that cause.
I'm interested to see how this plays out and if they actually call for remove of these men who have poisoned our politics and conspired against their own people and their country!