The Free Speech of Corporations

Kirkpatrick, David D. “A Quest to End Spending Rules for Campaigns.” New York Times 25 January 2010: A1, A11.

In this article, David D. Kirkpatrick tells us the story of an attorney named Mr. James Bopp Jr. who has fought for free speech for the past 35 years and was influential in the Supreme Court ruling "that corporations, unions and non profit groups have the right to spend as much as they want supporting or opposing the election of a candidate." Although his client replaced him with another attorney for being too "ideological," it was his fighting that brought it to the Supreme Court. Mr. Bopp believes limiting corporate spending is a violation under the first amendment.

In class we learned about how the founding fathers wanted no official religion, because they believed it would lead to corruption of the government. It is safe to believe the founding fathers wouldn't want corporations controlling the government as well. Religions and corporations both have their own hidden agendas with could benefit or impose on other people and group's rights. If a corporation such as the tobacco industry spend a lot of money promoting a candidate's advertising for an election, the candidate elect would feel influenced from their corporate sponsors to lower tax rates on cigars and cigarettes, ban the commercials that are anti-smoking ads, and/or legalizing Cuban cigars in this country. If people want to keep religion out of government, why would they want corporations making decisions for the government either?