Pelosi Statement on Supreme Court Ruling Upholding Citizens United

Statement

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today after the Supreme Court struck down an attempt by the state of Montana to limit corporate campaign expenditures, reaffirming the Citizens United ruling that allows special interests to raise and spend unlimited sums of money in political campaigns:

"Today, the Supreme Court kept open the floodgates to uninhibited special interest spending in our campaigns and in our politics. Their disappointing decision to uphold Citizens United deals yet another blow to a fundamental American value: that the voices of the people determine the outcome of our elections, not the checkbooks of the few.

"Democrats are committed to restoring transparency, accountability, openness, and fairness to our political process. Our strategy is simple: we must DARE -- to fight for disclosure and shine a bright light on secret donations; to amend the Constitution to overturn the crushing Citizens United ruling; to reform the system and empower small donors and the grassroots; and to elect reform-minded candidates and leaders to office.

"In years past, the citizens of Montana saw the damaging influence of money in politics, recalling the days when copper barons could purchase the votes and loyalties of state politicians. Now, Americans are already witnessing the dangerous effects of Citizens United -- in unending and undisclosed expenditures on political advertisements. Today's decision ignores this reality and neglects the harmful consequences of the Court's actions for our democracy, once again strengthening the hand of special interests at the expense of the public interest. Moving forward, we must keep working to return political power to the American people."

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