Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court believes corporations are people, likely to defend unlimited money in politics
End Citizens United (ECU) today launched a nationwide call-in campaign demanding that senators reject the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the United States Supreme Court. The campaign finance reform group is activating its grassroots network in opposition to President Trump’s nominee, whose record on money in politics is aligned with corporate interests, not the public interest.
Based on Judge Gorsuch’s record, his confirmation would uphold the notion that corporations are people and it would inject more money into our elections — the exact opposite of what Americans want.
According to a new national poll conducted on behalf of End Citizens United, “seventy-eight percent of voters are more likely to oppose a nominee who will continue to allow corporations and special interests to use money to gain influence and drown out the voice of individuals in politics.”
“Judge Gorsuch’s confirmation would reinforce the absurd idea that corporations are people,” said Tiffany Muller, Executive Director at End Citizens United. “He’s the latest in a long line of President Trump’s appointments who are hostile to safeguards in our campaign finance laws designed to protect our democracy from the corrosive influence of money in politics. People across the country want rulings like Citizens United overturned because they know the amount of spending in our elections is affecting their everyday lives. We’re taking action. Every senator, in every state, will hear from our members.”
Gorsuch has written judicial opinions that include advocacy for applying the highest level of judicial review (strict scrutiny) to laws limiting political contributions, and an opinion supporting the notion that corporations are “persons.”
The 2010 Citizens United decision equated corporate rights to those of people. It led to the rise of Super PACs as well as dark money groups, which don’t report their donors. After Citizens United, dark money spending rose by nearly 100 percent. Total outside spending in the 2016 election cycle, primarily from Super PACs and dark money groups, reached a record-setting $1.5 billion.
End Citizens United, a grassroots-funded political action committee (PAC), was established in March 2015 to counter the disastrous effects of Citizens United and reform our campaign finance system.
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