“Special interest groups poured $1 billion into the last election. Today’s ruling just opened the floodgates for billions more. The Supreme Court said that corporations and other interest groups can spend as much as they want on independent expenditures.
“Justice Kennedy wrote for the majority: ‘This Court now concludes that independent expenditures ... do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption. That speakers may have influence over or access to elected officials does not mean that those officials are corrupt. And the appearance of influence or access will not cause the electorate to lose faith in this democracy.’
“The court is wrong.
“As I said on Tuesday, ‘We’ve put our democracy up for sale. Congress has become a wholly owned subsidiary of the industries it’s supposed to be regulating.’”
Congress:
--cuts deals with insurance and drug companies, while the high cost of medical care sends hundreds of thousands of Americans into bankruptcy, and thousands more to an early grave.
--allows polluters to desecrate our environment and disrupt our climate, when we should be protecting our air and water and ending our addiction to fossil fuel.
--rewards Wall Street bankers with taxpayer-funded bonuses, instead of holding them accountable for jeopardizing our savings and capsizing our economy.
Congress should:
--stand up to its biggest donors - beginning with those in the financial industry - by enacting the reforms the American people want.
--pass meaningful campaign finance reform.
“I support the Fair Elections Now Act, which would level the playing field in federal races. Every candidate for Congress should refuse to accept contributions from special interest groups - and return the money they’ve already taken. I am still the only candidate in this race to have made that commitment.”
“I am deeply disappointed by the Supreme Court’s decision, which, I believe, only serves to tighten the grip of special interests on the political process. This ruling rolls back sensible restrictions on corporate influence that date back decades, and sets a dangerous precedent I cannot support.
“Allowing corporate influence to flow unfettered into federal campaigns will only undermine the confidence the American people have in their government, and serve only to stack the deck further in favor of special interests at the expense of hardworking Americans. At a time when Washington is already too out of touch with the American people and too in tune with special interests, this decision sends exactly the wrong message.”
No recent, direct statement from Jane Norton on Campaign Finance Reform is available.