The Supreme Court's January 21, 2009 decision in Citizen’s United v. the Federal Election Commission gutted campaign finance laws and changed the way money and politics mix in America. Six years later, an satirical video about Citizens United will forever change the way you listen to Sir Mix-A-Lot’s booty anthem Baby Got Back. The parody, Baby Got PACs, takes it’s title from Political Action Committees, the nebulous legal structures that allow political donors and corporations to spend almost limitlessly in support of political candidates.
“No more than $2,700 / how can I get around it I wondered? / oh baby, that’s why I’m excited about Citizens United / so listen to my story / about how super PACs make me so happy,” go the lyrics in the video, produced by Al Jazeera America social-media focused content house AJ+.
Before the Citizen’s United decision, individual contributions to campaigns were limited to $2,700 dollars due to a bipartisan campaign finance reform law. In a 5-4 decision, the supreme court ruled that the laws represented an undue restriction of free speech, i.e. money. You might notice a unabashed pro-Bernie bent in the AJ+ video. The Vermont Senator has discouraged PACs (he can’t actually stop them), and has won a victory of sorts by out raising his rivals without relying as much on large individual donations.
Hillary Clinton also opposes the Citizens decision and, while she’s not swearing of the PAC money, the former Secretary of state has pledged to make overturning the decision a litmus test for Supreme Court Justice appointments. Her most prominent PAC set a $2 billion fundraising goal for her campaign.
Most Republican candidates have not focused on Citizens United during their campains so far.
Here's the video:
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.