[EL] Let's Put Citizens United to the Test: Pakistani Agent $ in U.S. Elections

[Paul Lehto]

On 7/19/11, Sean Parnell <sparnell at campaignfreedom.org> wrote:
> Well, I'll simply say national security does cut it for me, not to mention
> the issue of national sovereignty. I'd think you'd be happy to see an area
> of general if unenthusiastic agreement between the representative democracy
> community and the plutocracy community?

At this point (the point where the "national security" rationale
overcomes First Amendment principle when the Soviet Union or the like
gets involved in our elections) the facts force a recognition of what
Sean calls "national sovereignty" concerns.

This sovereignty might also be more particularly described as the
First Amendment associational right of We the People.  We the People
associate only at times of elections, given that elections are the
only official voice of the will of We the People.

Citizens United omitted any fundamental consideration of the
associational right of We the People - the associational entity that
the entire government is pledged to serve, and the national defense
forces pledged to protect.

Political parties  -- mere subsets at best of We the People and
factions to boot -- have clear and strong associational rights,
including the right to *exclude* non-members.  Citizens United's
philosophy prohibits the government of We the People from excluding
non-voters and non-humans (corporations) from elections.

No matter what, if any, the Supreme Court's doctrine may be on this
question, it makes no sense to actively protect the associational
rights of corporations and political parties including their
associational right to exclude or kick out members, while totally
ignoring the associational rights of the most important association of
all:  We the People.  This hypothetical about national security
concerns exposes that omission in glaring detail, in my mind.

Paul Lehto, J.D.

-- 
Paul R Lehto, J.D.
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