John McCain: Corporations Are Not People

[nhboy (Premo)]

Link to original source w/ video.

"Hey, Obama campaign, here's your next campaign ad. Get on it and keep hammering it.

After Sheldon Adelson announced a $10 million donation to a Romney SuperPAC with the promise of "unlimited funds" to come, Senator John McCain sat down for this interview with Judy Woodruff.

After making the declaration that "corporations are not people", Senator McCain says that Adelson's profits are largely from his casino in Macau, and therefore it's likely that Romney's campaign is being funded with foreign money as a result. He goes on to criticize the Citizens United decision as the "most misguided, naive, uninformed, egregious decision of the United States Supreme Court" and predicts many scandals as a result of their decision. Ya think?

Key points:

JUDY WOODRUFF: This question of campaign money highlighted today by this -- the announcement that there's a huge amount of money coming in from one donor in the state of Nevada.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: Mr. Adelson, who gave large amounts of money to the Gingrich campaign. And much of Mr. Adelson's casino profits that go to him come from this casino in Macau.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Which says what?

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: Which says that, obviously, maybe in a roundabout way, foreign money is coming into an American campaign -- political campaigns.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Because of the profits at the casinos in Macau?

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: Yes. That is a great deal of money. And, again, we need a level playing field and we need to go back to the realization that Teddy Roosevelt had that we have to have a limit on the flow of money, and that corporations are not people."

[CrashTest]

On election night in 2004, when word came in that Bush was going to win Florida, Judy Woodruff almost broke down in tears on the air because she knew it was over.

[ylexot]

Ummm...Sheldon Adelson is not a corporation.

Also, there are very few people who work for large corporations that "in a roundabout way" receive money from foreign sources. Should they all be banned from donating?

[Tilted (Premo)]

(1) Aww... is Mr. McCain still butthurt from the Supreme Court striking down part of the unConstitutional law that bears his name? How cute, his feelings are still hurt all this time later.

(2) What does Sheldon Adelson donating to a superPAC have to do with Citizens United? Maybe Mr. McCain was thinking of Speechnow.org v FEC, as that would seem to be the most logical direct target for his ire in this regard?

(3) Okay, so corporations aren't actually people. Neither are pieces of paper, bottles of ink, billboards, or the infrastructure that TV networks / channels use to disseminate their programs. So what's his point?

[JoeRider]

Originally Posted by Tilted

(1) Aww... is Mr. McCain still butthurt from the Supreme Court striking down part of the unConstitutional law that bears his name? How cute, his feelings are still hurt all this time later.

Wow, that is the strongest language I have ever seen you write. Yes, I am 100% in agreement with the SC on this one. Glad they struck it down. To me it is more power to the people behind PAC's and people that actually want to do something instead of fake Pacs like the union.

[czygvtwkr]

Neither are unions

at least it is not money secretly purchasing Ads, buying robo calls, secret donations raised at Buddhist Temples, Anonymous CC Donations on an insecure website .... [basic address verification is not in place for Obama Donations]

[Larry Gude (Premo)]

John McCain is one of the more sanctimonious self centered a-holes in a business noted for sanctimonious, self centered a-holes.

When he started this noise a long time ago, when he came out of the Keating Five Scandal somewhat tarnished, he took the position that it wasn't his fault. It was the system, the fundraising demands. That it was corrupting.

So, George Will asked him the obvious; "Senator McCain, would you describe how money in politics has corrupted you? Or others?"

McCain is just another one of those people who, when given the chance to sell their soul to get something are first in line and then when the bill comes due, suddenly, they don't like it.

FIX it Senator. FIX it. The problem is NOT money in politics. Frankly, there isn't much especially when you consider what they do, their economic impact both good and bad. The problem is SIMPLY limiting who can give what to whom. Money is speech. So is a vote. If I can't vote to kick out Pelosi, and I can't, then I, and anyone, anything else, that can't vote against her, should not be allowed to GIVE to the candidates. And, guess what? A party can't vote so, it can't give either!

And, if I can vote to, say, re-elect Roscoe, then I should be able to give all I like and it should be disclosed right away so other voters can make their judgments knowing who is supporting the guy and how much.

McCain's political career is a textbook study in great movement to truly do good thrown away. POW's. Campaign finance. TARP.

Wiener.