Reference no: EM133273456

Citizens United v. FEC was a Supreme Court case surrounding campaign finance and corporate involvement in politics. The Federal Election Commission was created in 1971 and greatly regulated the amount of campaign finance political candidates were able to receive. By 2002, the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act (McCain-Feingold Act) restricted organizations from financing issue-based advertisements on behalf of candidates. Citizens United released a million-dollar ad against Hillary Clinton. Before the film aired, Citizens United challenged the McCain-Feingold Act, stating that money was a form of Free Speech, which is protected by the First Amendment. The Supreme Court ruled the McCain-Feingold Act unconstitutional but stated that corporations still cannot give money directly to political candidates.

During his 2010 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama did something very few presidents have done: he openly challenged a Supreme Court ruling in front of both chambers of Congress and members of the Supreme Court of the United States. That ruling, Citizens United v. F.E.C. (2010), and the President's commentary on it, reignited passions on both sides of a century-long debate: to what extent does the First Amendment protect the variety of ways Americans associate with one another and the diverse ways we "speak," "assemble," and participate in American political life? It is this speech - political speech - that the Founders knew was inseparable from the very concept of self-government

What do you think the relationship between money and politics should be?