Washington, DC – Last weekend marked the two-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s controversial Citizens United decision, which opened the floodgates of unlimited and anonymous campaign spending by corporations. Today, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) spoke on the Senate floor to mark the anniversary and advocate for better regulation of our campaign finance system. He also incorporated comments from Rhode Islanders who had shared their thoughts on Citizens United on this web page.
Whitehouse’s remarks kicked off a series of speeches by Senators today decrying the Citizens United decision.
Calling the Court’s decision “disastrous,” Whitehouse urged the Senate to “redouble our efforts to limit the damage done by Citizens United… if we’re to preserve democracy ‘of the people, by the people, and for the people’ from this tide of unlimited, unaccountable, and anonymous corporate money polluting our elections.”
Whitehouse also shared comments from Rhode Islanders concerned about the effect of the Citizens United decision, including one from Charles in Little Compton, who wrote, “[i]t is wrong that someone who shouts louder or further, in this instance solely because they have more money, should drown out another person . . . [C]orporations have no problem getting their views aired.”
Some comments from Rhode Islanders have been posted online. More stories will continue to be added, and Rhode Islanders can continue sharing their thoughts and concerns about the Citizens United decision with Senator Whitehouse by visiting this page on his website.
Video of Whitehouse’s speech is available on YouTube.
###
