Constitutional Amendment to reverse Citizens United v. FEC introduced

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Sens. Tom Udall, D-N.M., and Chris Dodd, D-Conn., have introduced a constitutional amendment to reverse the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling, which allows corporations and unions to spend unlimited money on independent political expenditures. Udall, Dodd introducing constitutional amendment to overturn SCOTUS ruling « New Mexico Independent:

The amendment was introduced by Dodd, who is retiring after this election cycle, but Udall is an original cosponsor.

The constitutional amendment would allow Congress to regulate how money for federal races is raised and spent, including independent expenditures which are at the heart of the Citizens United decision. It would also allow states to regulate such spending at their level.

Udall and Dodd also announced they would support legislative efforts to “blunt the Supreme Court’s ruling, ncluding increased disclosure requirements on corporate campaign spending and other efforts to further limit the influence of foreign corporations in the democratic process.”

Some commentators have said that the Citzens United ruling could work as an effective wedge issue for Democrats, much like gay marriage bans and abortion laws have served as wedge issues for Republicans.

Eight in 10 poll respondents say they oppose the high court's Jan. 21 decision to allow unfettered corporate political spending, with 65 percent "strongly" opposed. Nearly as many backed congressional action to curb the ruling, with 72 percent in favor of reinstating limits. Poll: Large majority opposes Supreme Court's decision on campaign financing – washingtonpost.com The poll revealed relatively little difference of opinion on the issue among Democrats (85 percent opposed to the ruling), Republicans (76 percent) and independents (81 percent).