State Senator: Citizens United Ruling 'Dangerous'

The following was submitted by State Senator Pat Jehlen, a Democrat who represents Medford and Somerville:

Last Thursday, the Massachusetts Senate passed a resolution calling for the United States Congress to pass a constitutional amendment to overturn the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.  In that decision, the Court ruled that the First Amendment prohibited the government from restricting the political expenditures of corporations. 

“The Citizens United ruling is dangerous to our democracy, said Senator Patricia Jehlen.  “It has enabled a handful of extremely wealthy individuals donating to Super PACs to monopolize the content of political advertisements and blanket the airwaves in support of particular candidates.”

A poll of Massachusetts voters conducted in February by 7 News and Suffolk University revealed that 83 percent of Democrats polled, 73 percent of Republicans and 81 percent of independents oppose the Supreme Court’s decision.

During the 2010 elections, the first since the Supreme Court’s decision, non-candidate spending reached nearly $400 million, nearly 60 percent higher than spending during the 2006 midterm elections, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.