Citizens United Two Years Later: Money, Politics and Democracy at Stake

Caroline Fredrickson

President, American Constitution Society for Law and Policy
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Michael Tomasky

Editor-in-Chief, Democracy: A Journal of Ideas; Special Correspondent, Newsweek and The Daily Beast
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Fred Wertheimer

Founder and President, Democracy 21
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Bradley A. Smith

Professor of Law, Capital University Law School
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Anthony Johnstone

Assistant Professor of Law, The University of Montana School of Law
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Laurence E. Gold

Associate General Counsel, AFL-CIO; Partner, Trister, Ross, Schadler & Gold
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Monica Youn

Brennan Center Constitutional Fellow, New York University School of Law
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Discussion

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Two years ago in Citizens United v. FEC, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations may spend freely to support or oppose candidates for president and Congress, easing decades-old limits on their participation in federal campaigns. Mid-way through a critical election year, what has been the impact of that decision? Have Super PACs changed the electoral landscape? What should be made of the Montana Supreme Court’s decision to uphold that state’s Corrupt Practices Act, which limits corporate political spending, despite Citizens United? What is the future of campaign finance reform? Leading thinkers and advocates discussed the role money is playing in the 2012 campaign, the potential impact on our democracy, and what might be done about it.