Dreams Of A “Big Sky” Country!!! Here’s a…
Dreams Of A “Big Sky” Country!!!
Here’s a great op-ed by the Democratic Governor of Montana on the need for a Constitutional Amendment that would overturn Citizens United. It contains some fun history too:
Montana’s approach to campaign law began when a miner named William A. Clark came upon a massive copper vein near Butte. It was the largest deposit on earth, and overnight he became one of the wealthiest men in the world. He bought up half the state of Montana, and if he needed favors from politicians, he bought those as well.
In 1899 he decided he wanted to become a United States senator. The State Legislature appointed United States senators in those days, so Clark simply gave each corruptible state legislator $10,000 in cash, the equivalent of $250,000 today.
Clark “won” the “election,” but when the Senate learned about the bribes, it kicked him out. “I never bought a man who wasn’t for sale,” Clark complained as he headed back to Montana.
It’s interesting that the State’s Rights!!1! Republicans aren’t screaming bloody murder about how Citizen’s United has taken away the ability of states like Montana to pass laws to clean up their elections. It’s almost like the more accurate Republican motto should be “State’s Rights (that we happen to agree with!!!)” —Uncle Eb/John
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