George Bush’s administration never met a pro-business position it didn’t like. Unfortunately, in recent years, this seems to be the tilt of the Supreme Court as well.

I was aghast in 2005 when the court ruled in Kelo v. City of New London that a state or local government could seize private property and hand that property over to a third party for development in a way that might yield higher tax revenues in the future. BTW, the promised development in this landmark case failed to materialize.

Now, this January, the court has followed this up with Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission where they ruled that the limitations on campaign contributions by corporations and unions imposed by the McCain-Feingold Act of 2002 is a violation of these entities’ First Amendment rights.

What are they smoking and where can I get some?

I’m pretty sure that the founding fathers had a clear conception of what free speech, freedom of the press, and illegal seizure of property meant - You could say what you want in public and not be arrested for holding views hostile to the crown. You could print an editorial without having your newspaper shuttered or your presses smashed. You could be secure in your home knowing that the British army couldn’t force you to provide room and board to their soldiers or confiscate your crops of livestock. These were not legal abstractions but very real grievances against colonial rule that set the stage for our revolution.

Yes, corporations, unions, associations, and political action committees all play a role in our great republic, and yes, in many ways it makes some limited sense to treat these entities as we would individuals, but they are not people - they are not citizens.

The constitution does not start with the immortal words, “We the people and affiliated organizations of the United States of America, ….”

Until the day comes that these organizations can be thrown in jail for their crimes, vote, or serve and possibly die in the military, they should not have the same (or sometimes it would seem, even greater) protections as individual citizens. We need less money distorting our politics, not more.