Creative thinking in politics

Ever since the Supreme Court shattered campaign finance law with its decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission in 2010,1 Americans have been told there are only two ways to stop corporate and “dark” money in politics: Amend the U.S. Constitution or wait for the court to undo what it has done.

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Citizens United held that government may not regulate a corporation’s right to spend money independently in elections. But the court did not say what a corporation is—it could not. That question lies beyond even the Supreme Court’s reach.

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Corporations are creatures of statute, not of nature. And for more than two centuries, the power to build them—to define their form, limits, and privileges—has belonged to the states and only to the states.

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[T]he underlying authority to define and limit corporate powers never disappeared. It simply went quiet: unused, untested, and unmentioned [...] .This report names that authority, explains it, and shows how states can reclaim it to, in effect, undo Citizens United by executing a reset of their corporations’ powers. The sovereign authority to decide which powers states grant to the corporations they charter includes the authority to not grant their corporations the power to spend in politics.

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The legal strategy developed by the Center for American Progress—the “Corporate Power Reset”—will, state by state, drain corporate and dark money from American politics. It does not overturn Citizens United; it makes it irrelevant.

  American Progress

That would be great. But I can imagine Red states offering more lucrative conditions for corporations, including allowing them to continue their political power via dark money. Blue states would have to allow the same in order to compete. This is something to think about, though. If you're interested, read the long article in totality.