Posts Tagged ‘freedom of speech’

Blame the Bill of Rights, not the Roberts Court, for allowing corporations undue influence on elections

January 5, 2012

 

Millions of Americans, especially on the Left, are scornful of the ruling of the Supreme Court in 2010 regarding Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. In that ruling the Court overturned the provision of McCain-Feingold barring corporations and unions from paying for political ads made independently of candidate campaigns.

The ruling opened the door to unlimited expenditures by corporations and unions on behalf of candidates for office. It’s opened the floodgates to anonymous negative ads, and the Left is in high dudgeon.They have mischaracterized the Court’s ruling as “corporations are people and have the rights of people.” This piece of fiction has been enshrined in the dogma of the Left by Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Rachel Maddow.

What nonsense!


As much as one may hate the result of the Court’s ruling, one can’t get beyond the Court’s reasoning: The First Amendment to the Constitution is pretty straightforward:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble (more…)

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MSNBC and White House go crazy over Mark Halperin’s small slip, MSNBC fires him

June 30, 2011

On MSNBC’s Morning Joe this morning best-selling author and Time editor at large Mark Halperin was asked his opinion of President Obama’s behavior at yesterday’s press conference. Before giving it he asked if there was a seven-second delay and was assured by host Joe Scarborough that there was. Co-host Mika Brzezinski urged him on:

“Go for it, we’ll see what happens.”

Scarborough reassured Halperin:

“You fall down I’m going to catch you.”

Halperin gave his opinion:

“I thought he was kind of a dick yesterday.”

The hosts dissolved in giggles—shocked giggles when they learned that there had been no delay, “dick” had gone out on cable at (more…)