The GOP was right to be afraid of Sonia Sotomayor
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The GOP was right to be afraid of Sonia Sotomayor
Politically, you had to wonder why the GOP was so up in arms about Sonia Sotomayor -- it was terrible politics, after all, to alienate Latino voters as their power as a voting group continues to grow. Maybe it's because Sotomayor is proving to be the Republicans' worst nightmare: A Latina who's wise enough not to buckle to the clout of American corporations:
WASHINGTON -- In her maiden Supreme Court appearance last week, Justice Sonia Sotomayor made a provocative comment that probed the foundations of corporate law.
During arguments in a campaign-finance case, the court's majority conservatives seemed persuaded that corporations have broad First Amendment rights and that recent precedents upholding limits on corporate political spending should be overruled.
But Justice Sotomayor suggested the majority might have it all wrong -- and that instead the court should reconsider the 19th century rulings that first afforded corporations the same rights flesh-and-blood people have.
This is the true battle for the heart and soul of the Supreme Court -- and of America. Not all the -- pardon my initials -- BS that wastes everyone's time during these increasingly pointless confirmation hearings. The real story of justice in America since the 2004 election is this, that George W. Bush appointed two of the most corporatist flunkies ever to the bench in John Roberts and Samuel Alito and now we have Sotomayor seeking to tip those scales back toward the people.
It's probably not enough. Sometime in the coming months, the Roberts-Alito court is going to vote 5-4 to allow a flood of corporate money into American politics, which will probably result in legislation that will make the billionaire bailout of Wall Street seem as tame as voting to rename a post office. You want to know the real problem with Justice Sotomayor...it's that we don't have four more like her.
Oh, and the best "news" coverage of the corporate takeover of America these days. It's on the Colbert Report (below). What, you thought you were going to see it in Time magazine?
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Jeffrey Toobin | ||||
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Obama- still a stooge of corporate GE. TPS- once again fails to address main point while distorting my pointing out Democrat hypocrisy. Nothing new. And Gibba, we HAVEN'T missed your comments.— WriteWinger- Comment removed.
- Where is Chris Satuillo when you need him? Oh that's right the Inquirer had him sent to a "rest home" after he brought International scorn for his "we have sinned so no 4th of July for us" breakdown. This nut belongs in the same rubber room. As a matter of fact the Inquirer editorial board ought to get a group rate.— dsdjj
- ROFLMAO The rightwing loves to wave the flag and claim that the Corporate Economy is a foundation of the Republic. How wrong you are. How about we look at the opinions of Tom Jefferson and James Madison. One wrote the Declaration Of Independence and the other was the key father of the Constitution. Most Americans don’t know it but Thomas Jefferson, along with James Madison worked assiduously to have an 11th Amendment included into our nation’s original Bill of Rights. This proposed Amendment would have prohibited “monopolies in commerce.” The amendment would have made it illegal for corporations to own other corporations, or to give money to politicians, or to otherwise try to influence elections. Corporations would be chartered by the states for the primary purpose of “serving the public good.” Corporations would possess the legal status not of natural persons but rather of “artificial persons.” This means that they would have only those legal attributes which the state saw fit to grant to them. They would NOT; and indeed could NOT possess the same bundle of rights which actual flesh and blood persons enjoy. Under this proposed amendment neither the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, nor any provision of that document would protect the artificial entities known of as corporations.— B Vernon
- Part 2: Jefferson and Madison were so insistent upon this amendment because the American Revolution was in substantial degree a revolt against the domination of colonial economic and political life by the greatest multinational corporation of its age: the British East India Company. After all who do you think owned the tea which Sam Adams and friends dumped overboard in Boston Harbor? Who was responsible for the taxes on commodities and restrictions on trade by the American colonists? It was the British East India Company, of course. In the end the amendment was not adopted because a majority in the first Congress believed that already existing state laws governing corporations were adequate for constraining corporate power. Jefferson worried about the growing influence of corporate power until his dying day in 1826. Even the more conservative founder John Adams came to harbor deep misgivings about unchecked corporate power.— B Vernon
- "It's not the social issues that suffer the most from a Conservative court, but consumer rights, environmentalism, worker's rights, but nobody pays attention to those rulings." Well, about the worst SCOTUS decision of the last decade, Kelo, had the liberal judges in the majority along with Kennedy. Any more, the main difference between the Dems and the GOP are the sections of the Constitution they choose to bang upon.— db_cooper
Alioto Roberts and their SCOTUS cohorts [the corporatists] are ACTIVISTS. Corporations have NO constitutional rights but this court will create new law. Madison and the other fathers of the constitution are turning over in their graves. Be afraid, very very very afraid.
I would think the administration would support this. To be honest there is a ton of corporate money going into politics as the rules stand now it just gets there in round about ways. Direct contributions by corporations would be more "transparent". To make it even more transparent why not have the candidates wear a lapel pin of their biggest contributor or better yet for European soccer fans like Bunch and NASCAR fans they could get suits made with all their corporate sponsorship.— bird11- "The rightwing loves to wave the flag and claim that the Corporate Economy is a foundation of the Republic." Its the capitalist economy this is part of the foundation of our country. Both sides have taken part in the creeping rise of corporatism in the past decades.— RG
- A Public Policy Polling Survey of New Jersey(a very blue state) conservatives found that 33% of Republicans think that Obama is not a citizen and that 18% of conservatives think that Obama is the anti-christ. 17% were not sure. I wonder how many of Bunch's right wing trolls voted? You can't make this stuff up.— mxlplk
- Now be fair, mxlplk. There could be some crossover in that poll -- depending on whether you think that the antichrist can be legally qualified as an American citizen. And seriously, who could doubt whether or not someone trying to provide health insurance to the poor is the antichrist? Doesn't the bible clearly spell out that helping parents care for their sick children is the work of the devil?— Talking point sleuth
- Right LJL- pick out ONE CORPORATION out of the millions that operate. Seriously- no one ever confused you with Albert Einstein I bet.--------- Brian dead? that shiny thing in your bathroom is called a MIRROR.— Illogical Liberal
- I see The Talking Point Tool had too much sissy, organic coffee again.— Illogical Liberal
- Comment removed.
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