The Supreme Court is hearing arguments today in
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a case in which the court will consider whether corporate money can be spent to advocate for political candidates; audio is being
streamed here live from C-SPAN. If the court overturns the ban on corporate campaigning, it could drastically impact the way federal elections are financed. Candidates could have to spend more time and effort to raise money to counter corporate campaigning against them, and seeking corporate allies could become a key part of campaigns. Corporations would have much more clout than lobbying and political donations currently afford.
President Obama revolutionized campaign financing with record-breaking hauls, a massive online effort and tons of small donors, but, depending on what the Supreme Court decides, the Obama era of campaign funding could be ushered out as quickly as it was ushered in.
This article available online at:
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2009/09/listen-supreme-court-case-on-corporate-donations/24714/
