Washington » Senate Democrats took turns expressing their outrage over a Supreme Court ruling that removes barriers to corporate political spending, calling the decision "corrosive to our democracy," "disastrous," and "catastrophic" during a hearing Tuesday.
Utah Sen. Bob Bennett's take?
"I don't think it is going to have much of an influence," he said.
Bennett was the lone Senate Republican to appear at the first congressional hearing on the court's Citizens United ruling and the only senator who thought the justices got it right, calling it a win for First Amendment supporters.
The 5-4 decision overturned a law blocking corporations from directly supporting or opposing a candidate in its advertising, which could lead to a flood of new money into elections at all levels of government.
President Barack Obama criticized the ruling during his State of the Union address and every Democrat who appeared at the Senate Rules Committee meeting Tuesday did so as well.
They believe the decision will allow corporations to spend big money to intimidate politicians who oppose their views.
"The threat alone is enough to chill debate and distort the political process in ways that hurt the voice and influence of average citizens," said committee Chairman Chuck Schumer, D-New York, who is working on legislation to blunt the ruling's potential impacts.
Democratic committee members also warned that the decision would allow the domestic subsidiaries of foreign companies to influence elections, a point that some Republicans challenge.
Bennett said he doesn't expect a large number of corporations to rush into the middle of elections because they won't want to alienate Republican or Democrat consumers.
But he believes corporations should have the right to do so.
He framed the Citizens United decision as a step toward treating all corporations equally, saying media companies such as The New York Times and Fox News previously had more rights than corporations that sell fruit or toilet paper.
"The Supreme Court said the First Amendment applies to all of us and not just those who own their own TV show," Bennett said during the hearing.
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., keyed off of Bennett's comments and argued the Supreme Court gave corporations the same free speech rights as citizens, something never contemplated by the nation's founders.
Kerry called for a constitutional amendment to "make it clear once and for all that corporations do not have the same free speech rights as individuals."
He said the ruling would further erode the nation's election system where "big money in our politics is robbing the average citizen of his or her voice in the setting of our nation's agenda."
On this, Bennett again pushed back.
"He who has the most money does not always win," Bennett said. "Indeed many times, he who has the most money spends it stupidly and ends up helping the other side."
While he supports the Citizens United ruling, Bennett said he would be willing to consider new disclosure or disclaimer requirements. Schumer said he plans to introduce legislation soon that could require company shareholders to vote on political ad expenditures or require new levels of public disclosure for corporate political spending.
