The Supreme Court decided that individuals can spend as much as they want to fund political campaigns. Chief Justice Roberts defended the decision by arguing that limits on campaign contributions violated the right to free speech which is protected by the first amendment to the US Constitution. I am totally surprised that our founders had not thought about the right to purchase the favors of political candidates when they wrote the first amendment. Everyone knows that "money talks" and that billionaires should be allowed to have as much free speech as they can afford. After all, what is the purpose of money if it can't be used to purchase whatever one wants.
The Supreme Court used to be one America's most highly respected institutions. This decision by the Bush majority will tarnish its declining image beyond repair. The court has become a defender of plutocracy. It was intended to be the defender of democracy which is the enemy of plutocracy. Perhaps we should call this the Adelson/ Koch Court.
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