One year ago today SCOTUS ruled in favor of the Corporate Elite in their Citizens United v. FEC decision.  After three decades of careful planning, Ronald Reagan’s puppet masters had finally managed to realize their ultimate corporate dream – electoral control of the federal government.   

We are just beginning to witness the impact of this democracy-crushing decision.  As I wrote last year on the day of the ruling: 

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This landmark decision significantly increases the power of corporations to control our daily lives.   

The previous ban on corporate spending in elections had been in place for more than a century.  The Tillman Act of 1907 officially established this ban, and there have been numerous laws enacted since then that have strengthened this prohibition. 

Today, this all came to an end. 

Corporate America has always sought to have government be considered a subordinate function within their realm.  Just as they have a marketing division, a manufacturing division, and a finance division, they have always wished for a “government division” that could legally direct the public to suit their corporate needs.  Soon they will have their wish. 

We live in an extremely commercial society.  Our daily purchases are determined by the marketing programs presented to us by the companies who provide us with goods and services.  Whoever has the most money to spend on these marketing programs will win our purchasing dollars.  In the future, Corporate America – having the most money to spend on election campaign marketing – will also win our election votes. 

Personal campaign financing and “real” grassroots funding provided by groups like moveon.org will be a thing of the past.  No one will be able to compete with the mega-funding that will come from the corporate deep pockets.  The corporate candidates will all be Reagan-like puppets who can be easily manipulated by their corporate masters. 

In a few years, expect to see George W. Bush and Sarah Palin clones filling every seat in Congress as well as the executive desk chair in the Oval Office.  

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The November 2010 elections were the first testing-ground for the new Citizens United (CU) corporate election tool.  Although not yet fully perfected, the CU influence proved to be very effective in many important races - almost entirely for the benefit of Republicans. 

Now, even Democrats are jumping onboard the Corporate Elite gravy train.  This is evidenced by their recent support for tax cuts for the rich, and their expressed interest in decreasing (or eliminating) corporate regulations.  There is even talk of Democratic support for Social Security reform. 

Thom Hartman wrote an excellent CU article earlier this week which walks us through the history and current status of the CU ruling.  Thom identifies “only three ways to undo a bad Supreme Court decision”: 

1.  Wait until the composition of the Court changes. 

2.  The people, the president and Congress break with the Court. 

3.  We go through the tedious task of amending the Constitution.  

Personally, I question whether any of these approaches will work.  The CU ruling established control over all three branches of government.  The president and members of congress now know that they cannot be reelected without the financial support of corporations and special interest groups. 

They are not going to enact laws that could adversely affect their sponsors.  Nor are they going to appoint (or confirm) judges who would oppose the CU ruling. 

Furthermore, the Constitutional amendment process begins in Congress, and Congress is not about to initiate an amendment that will take away their own financial backers. 

The long-term effects of the CU ruling appear to be unstoppable.