McCutcheon, the Majority, and the Challenge of Our Time

As money increasingly dominates all levels of government, corporations and wealthy individuals will reap the benefits - while the rest of the public pays the price. Here are some other examples of public aspirations that are more likely to be crushed now that this ruling has been handed down:

• 57 percent think upper income Americans pay less than their fair share in taxes;
• 66 percent say the richest 2 percent should pay more in taxes;
• 73 percent believe that corporations pay too little in taxes and that America should eliminate corporate loopholes to stimulate the economy;
• 69 percent of the respondents in one poll believe that tax loopholes for corporate meals and entertainment should be eliminated;
• 83 percent believe that corporations should pay as much on foreign profits as they do on US profits;
• 73 percent of those polled in another study believe that corporations pay too little in taxes and that America should eliminate corporate loopholes to stimulate the economy;
• 68 percent want to eliminate the carried interest loophole that allows Wall Street hedge fund managers to pay a lower tax rate than middle-class taxpayers;
• and, 79 percent want to close tax loopholes to ensure that American corporations pay as much on foreign profits as they do on profits made in the U.S.

Without a significant change to the political process, very few of these public goals are likely to be met. The Pageant

Instead we're likely to see more displays like the embarrassing spectacle of Republican presidential candidates presenting themselves to gambling billionaire Sheldon Adelson as if they were pageant contestants in the "talent" portion of the competition. (Uh-oh! Chris Christie uses the phrase "occupied territories" and the buzzer sounds!)

It would be amusing -- if it weren't so offensive to our core American values.

Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, declared that "government regulation may not target the general gratitude a candidate may feel toward those who support him or his allies, or the political access such support may afford."

Whichever of Sheldon Adelson's contestants is ultimately granted his largesse will undoubtedly feel a deep, if "general," gratitude toward the billionaire. And the "political access" that is already difficult for most Americans to obtain will move even further out of reach.

The Challenge of Our Time

The stakes couldn't be higher. Economists like Thomas Piketty are telling us of the enormous risks we face as wealth and power are increasingly accumulated in the hands of a tiny minority. Other investigations, like this NASA-funded study, suggest that the stability of our civilization is at risk if we cannot restrain corporate exploitation of the planet's human and natural resources.

Both public opinion and the forces of demographic change are working against the billionaires and the corporations, so the response is to maximize the power of money and minimize the power of democracy. This court's partial overthrow of the Voting Rights Act was a response to the shifting composition of the American population. This week's ruling, like Citizens United and others that will inevitably follow, is designed to give corporations and the wealthy near-complete control over the political process.

"Where enough money calls the tune," said Justice Breyer in his dissent, "the general public will not be heard."

Wealthy interests are taking this struggle very seriously. This ruling is the result of a decades-long strategy to repopulate the American judicial system with political partisans willing to act boldly in the interests of corporations and the wealthy. That does  not mean that all is lost. There is a national mood of deep dissatisfaction with a status quo based on privilege and inequality. Sometimes all that is needed is a galvanizing moment, after which a mood becomes a movement. With luck, and if we work to make it so, this could be that moment for a movement to restore democracy in the United States.

Previous generations rose to the urgency of their moments: to end slavery, to give women the vote, to rebuild after the Great Depression, to establish civil rights and end wars. Today's ruling points us to the defining struggle of today's generation -- a struggle for democracy itself. This defeat could ultimately lead to victory -- if we respond to the urgency of the moment.