Saturday, January 23, 2010

Treason for Profit, 100% Legal. Get Rich Quick !!!!!!!!!

  

Sadly, that headline can be accurate, thanks to the Supreme Court's decision last week, Citizens United Vs. FEC.  This decision, bizarrely, recognized corporations as having free speech rights under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.  

The position is fundamentally un-American.  Our founding doctrine is that rights are bestowed upon people by "the Creator," and are inalienable.  That is, they aren't granted by government or law -- government can only respect or infringe these intrinsic rights.  The Supreme Court majority seems to think that corporations can or should have rights bestowed upon them by government.  Theologically, this is blaspemy.  In terms of political philosophy, it is hubris. Pragmatically, it opens the floodgates to treason for profit.

The coporations that now have freedom to make their own unlimited election campaigns now include any group incorporated in a US territory or state.  Actually, as of today, I know of no valid law that forbids even foreign corporations from broadcasting such election ads in the US.  Traditionally, even foreigners have had unencumbered free speech in the US.  

Still, election ads are likely to still have to have the group paying for the ad to be named, and election advertising is unlikely to be effective if its byline says "paid for by The National Bank of Switzerland."  Usually, it works better to say something like "paid for by Americans for Truth and Beauty."

So a new, lucrative business plan is now possible.  I'll start up a new public-relations corporation called "Americans for Truth and Beauty, Inc."  I can incorporate ATB online in Delaware for about $100.  Then file for an IRS tax ID number online and I can be in business in a day.

I then contact the 100 largest corporations of the China stock market in Shangai.  These are, of course, generally controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.  No matter, business-to-business deals in this globalized economy is simply free trade, there's no legal reason not to do business with them.

I tell them that I'm going to produce materials to support the campaigns of candidates who:
--oppose tarrifs against Chinese goods, on "free trade" grounds
--believe we shouldn't criticize the human rights records of our trading partners
--don't think China or anyone else should have to cut down on coal-fired power plants
--favor strong unions in America, which coincidentally will make it harder for American businesses to compete against Chinese ones
--oppose a strong US military presence in the Pacific, because our Pacific allies should carry their own military burden.

I ask these foreign companies (or heck, even the Chinese Communist Party itself) for seed money to allow me to interview candidates of both parties who might be prepared to support this agenda.  I find a number of candidates who can be persuaded to promise to follow this agenda, regardless of what might be said in their "official" campaigns.

List in hand, I go back to those Chinese corporations.  They say they won't give me money directly, but that I should expect lucrative contracts from various US-based partner organizations to produce materials sympathetic to these candidates and smearing their opponents.  Millions of dollars pour into my company to fund these independent election PR efforts.

Last week, this business plan would have been in violation of federal election laws.  The Supreme Court just overturned those laws.  This business plan is 100% legal today.  Even if restrictions are placed on foreign-owned corporatons, my US corporation (discreetly working with with hidden foreign partners) can continue with this scheme legally.

Traitors to American now have a 100% legal get-rich-quick scheme to line their own pockets.  

It's not WalMart and Exxon we need to worry about.  American national sovereignty just got gutted by the Supreme Court.

We now need an amendment to the Constitution to undo this damage to our country.

3 comments:

RJW - Progressive said...

All excellent points.

(My "business plan pals in comparison - I was going to solicit funds from do-gooders....)

There is a positive aspect of Citizens United, though.

"Judicial Activism" is (generally) a positive force in our society and has been a part of it since the beginning.

For my reasoning, Please see http://rjw-progressive.blogspot.com/2010/01/celebrate-citizens-united.html

The Tin Foil Hat Man said...

I am very afraid you are right but the worst is yet to come.
How long will it be before our omniscient SC sets the amount on how much a vote costs?

Anonymous said...

What a great resource!