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The Supreme Court has ruled that corporations may spend freely to support or oppose candidates for president and Congress, easing decades-old limits on their participation in federal campaigns.

As of mid-August 2009, there were six (6) lobbyists per single (1) member of House and Senate (Bloomberg News). That's 6:1, folks. Just for healthcare reform. For financial industry reform, there are 2,400 lobbyists in play. The Chamber of Commerce spent $26.2 million--in the first 2 quarters (6 months) of 2009. Clearly, private industries and their foot soldiers on K Street/Capitol Hill influence/dictate American policymaking. No matter who's 'voted in,' it's the influence machine that rules Washington. Worse, there's a good chance that the Supreme Court will grant corporations (as 'fictive persons') to spend unlimited dollars in funding electoral campaigns. Is there hope that this country will be a democracy one day? Or is it doomed to become increasingly, irrevocably plutocratic?

Campaign finance reform portal...

Compared to Obama's charismatic presidential campaign, why is he communicating so poorly on health care reform? George Lakoff says: He's letting policy wonks sell it. And these policymakers are communicating a list, not sharing a unifying idea.

Thomas Jefferson declared his hope to "crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country."

"Treason is a strong word, but not too strong, rather too weak, to characterize the situation in which the Senate is the eager, resourceful, indefatigable agent of interests as hostile to the American people as any invading army could be."

Healthcare Industry Gets Great Value from its Contributions to Blue Dogs (Centrist Democratic Senators)

Cornell Law School offers Syllabus, Opinion (Kennedy), Concurrence (Roberts, Scalia), CD-in-Part (Stevens, Thomas), in addition to primary ruling.

Legislative Battle Begins t

SEC proposal would disclose political donations by public corporations - The Washington Post http://t.co/38N8bKe via @washingtonpost