Citizens United v. FEC. The Supreme Court Case that Allowed the Right to Buy America
In 2010, the conservative-led United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) rendered a ruling that donating money to political campaigns was “free speech.” This decision allowed corporations, special interest groups, and wealthy individuals to spend unlimited amounts of money on elections in the form of independent expenditures.
Anti-Citizens United Supreme Court decision protesters - Washington, DC USA. Photo by B Christopher / Alamy Stock Photo.
What is an “independent expenditure?”
An independent expenditure is money spent on an election without coordinating with a campaign. That means oligarchs and their corporations can use unlimited funny money to flood television, radio, and social media with ads, all without direct consultation with a candidate.
To facilitate this process, the oligarchs created corporate-backed Political Action Committees (PAC) to funnel their money into campaigns, thereby advancing their preferred candidates to do their bidding.
It’s already happened in El Paso. The El Paso Chamber of Commerce created El Pasoans for Prosperity to attack Sunrise El Paso and the Climate Charter. Carlos Sierra, owner of Renegade Public Affairs, created Keep El Paso Honest to attack Rep. Veronica Escobar’s initial congressional campaign. Notorious financiers of right-wing extremists, the Koch Brothers, created the Libre Initiative to exert influence over Latino voters, persuading them to vote against their own interests. The Council on Regional Economic Expansion and Educational Development (CREEED) created the Kids First of El Paso PAC to infiltrate public school boards and promote charter schools.
We’ve seen the damaging effects it has had on our community…
…sweetheart deals benefiting oligarchs at the expense of taxpayers, like the 2018 land swap or the attempt to destroy Duranguito to build another arena…
…questionable decisions, such as appointing a businessman to be an EPISD superintendent despite having no background in education…
…little to no checks and balances on private utility monopolies like El Paso Electric…
...fighting grassroots efforts aimed at preserving our environment.
What Can You Do About It?
While we cannot stop independent expenditures, we can impose limits on how much money donors fund to local political candidates. Justicia Fronteriza is leading this charge to impose campaign contribution limits of $1,000 on donors per candidate.
With campaign contribution limits, candidates will have a level playing field in elections. Candidates seeking public office will have to rely on their merit and strong policies to win, rather than having the most financial resources at their disposal. YOU deserve better than propaganda flooding your mailbox, on television, and over the radio. YOU deserve free and fair elections, and Justicia Fronteriza is committed to fighting for that cause.
