'Et Tu, Antonin?' Supreme Court Declare War on Democracy

No matter how many trillions embittered and determined billionaires spend, their "common cents" cannot erase common sense. No amount of money or negative ads or specifically designed polls can change your mind if your value system is based in that of basic fairness to all.
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

Could it be any more obvious? By voting to overturn Montana's hundred-year-old law which banned corporate spending in state and local elections, and refusing to take another look at Citizen's United, the Supreme Court proved, beyond the shadow of a doubt, what it's been trying to downplay for the past several years: That, at its core, the highest court in our land is nothing more than a trivial exercise in Partisanship 101.

It would be upsetting for a decision as transparent as this to occur on a high school student council level. To think it is a decision handed down by the people we've appointed as guardians of our civil liberties is just disgusting.

It's the legal equivalent of a knife in the back of democracy and is truly a sad day for all Americans, republicans included. For, if our supreme court justices can be bought and sold, there's no telling what will happen to the individual freedoms of each and every one of us as the corporations muscle for total control of this once proud nation, district by district, state by state, completely unrestrained and unregulated; not to mention, rooted-on, and assisted by, our highest court.

What do we tell our children when we see these men and women who are charged with one of the greatest responsibilities any one of us can have -- that of sewing the fabric of how we live as Americans -- choosing to flush that responsibility down the toilet in the name of their own political leanings?

The fact that they continue to refuse to recognize a ridiculously obvious truth, which even a six-year-old could confirm -- that corporations do, in fact, pollute the political system with their money -- is beyond unacceptable, and is a clear violation of the oath these justices took upon taking office.

To think that these individuals, who swore an oath to equally protect every single one of us; to act in the best interests of the nation as a whole, and to be free from outside influence of any kind, are just billboards for the banks and oil companies, is a disgrace to each and every one of the founding fathers of this nation.

There are already examples of the right using the Citizen's United ruling and going to unbelievable lengths to swing elections in their favor. Case in point, former Mississippi state appellate court judge, Oliver Diaz, a republican, who was, himself, targeted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, among other political groups affiliated with Karl Rove and the like. (Most people think the Chamber of Commerce is a non-partisan, government run agency. In fact, it is one of the biggest lobbying groups around, controlled by some of the largest corporations in the U.S., e.g. Goldman Sachs, Texaco, Walmart, etc.)

Where do we go as Americans if the people who are at the pinnacle of what is supposed to be blind justice for all prove time and time again, that, in fact, justice not only sees what it wants to see, but it takes donations?

When respected professors, scholars and economists nationwide begin using bold terms like "corrupt" and "insane" to describe the effects this decision will have on the already massively flawed election process, you know we're in for it.

Justices Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, Kennedy, and Alito should be ashamed of themselves.

Do they think the majority of Americans are this stupid? Do they think we're going to just sit back and let these five, right-wing, anti-democracy, corporate shills turn over the keys to our country to the likes of Monsanto, BP, and the Koch brothers? There's simply no argument that can justify allowing an unlimited supply of money to flow from the richest and most powerful corporations into the channels of our electoral system. But, it's already happening.

They won't win, though. No matter how many trillions embittered and determined billionaires like the Koch brothers and their Super PACs spend, their "common cents" cannot erase common sense. No amount of money or negative ads or specifically designed polls can change your mind if your value system is based in that of basic fairness to all.

But, if we can't change the law, perhaps we should change the court? After all, the Supreme Court is the closest thing we have to a monarchy, complete with robes, thrones, etc.

Sign the petition and tell Congress it's time we rewrite the laws governing the appointments and term limits of Supreme Court justices. Because laws like Citizen's United are a direct result of what happens when we put people above the law and let them rule over us, virtually unchecked, until they retire or expire.

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot