Brian Frosh

Dear Friend,

Through its ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for an unprecedented corporate advertising barrage in both national and state elections.

But we can and must put reasonable rules in place to guide such spending. Under a package of legislation that Sen. Jamie Raskin and I are sponsoring, companies would have to observe certain requirements in state and local elections.

The Gazette ran an op-ed by Laslo Boyd on Friday supporting our legislation. An excerpt and link is provided below.

Sincerely,

Brian E. Frosh
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A Maryland response to the U.S. Supreme Court
By Laslo Boyd

Under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts, the Supreme Court has been a tireless and determined defender of the rich and powerful, the overdogs of American society. The recent decision to afford corporations the First Amendment rights of individuals - where's James Madison when we really need him? - and to nullify decades of efforts to keep wealth from dominating our political system is the most recent example.

With American politics looking increasingly dysfunctional and unable to respond to the key issues facing the country, the distorting role of money, and the interests that it represents, has been a major contributor. The Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission threatens to exacerbate an already-imbalanced situation. As countless examples demonstrate, those with the most financial resources dominate our political system.

But the Supreme Court has spoken, and its decision is the law of the land. Unlike some past instances in which opponents urged resistance or outright defiance of a court's ruling, the proper response is to figure out how to work within the guidelines established by the Citizens United decision.

That's exactly what Sen. Brian Frosh and 19 Senate co-sponsors are proposing with SB 570, which had its initial hearing in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee last week. Frosh has taken the language and logic of Justice Anthony Kennedy's majority opinion - that the First Amendment is a protection for citizens and associations of citizens - as his starting point. If corporations are to be viewed as associations of citizens, then it seems reasonable to insist that they engage in a collective and democratic decision-making process about how their association will participate in the political process.

>>Read the rest of the Op-Ed