By: Tom Tancredo
Remember the uproar from the left in 2010 when the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision that became known as Citizens United, found that corporations can contribute to political campaigns? It was loud and nasty. All the usual suspects in the media railed against it for weeks because they feared, they naturally assumed, most of that corporate money would go to Republicans.
As late as 2017, the New York Times ran long pieces dedicated to the belief that “Citizens United has unleashed a wave of campaign spending that by any reasonable standard is extraordinarily corrupting.” The piece then singles out contributions made to Republicans as examples of this “extraordinary” corruption. Hillary Clinton declared that a litmus test she would impose for her nominees to the SCOTUS would be a commitment to overrule Citizens United and show that her nominees would value the right to vote over the right of billionaires to buy elections. Bernie Sanders wanted a constitutional amendment to reverse it, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg said it was the Supreme Court’s worst ruling ever.
Well, guess what? I agree! I think the next Republican presidential nominee should make the repeal of Citizens United — and an increase in the corporate tax rate — the rallying cry of the campaign! I think the Republicans in the Congress should do the same.
Why? Look at the recent history of corporate contributions, and you will see what a corrupting influence they are.
There no longer remains any reason to support the leadership of Corporate America and defend their shareholders. The recent hysteria and false claims of CEO America over a cheater suppression change in election law in Georgia (photo ID now required to vote and electioneering near polling places now prohibited) show whose side they are on – and it is not middle-class America.
The Republican Party should not pay the price for the anti-constitutional actions of these corporations and their CEOs; their shareholders should be allowed to see the fruit of the socialist policies promoted by their dramatically overpaid employees when these policies that force unionization, dramatically increase corporate taxes, and impose stifling regulations on business become law. Senator McConnell should refuse to block any policies that protect publicly traded companies from reaping the harvest of the seeds sown by their leftist CEOs. Small businesses and all privately held companies should be protected, but those who play with other people’s money should pay the price for their ant-constitutional, anti-business actions.
You may wonder why this seemingly bizarre and illogical alliance of big corporations and big government adherents came about. Well, it really isn’t so surprising when you think about it because big business and big government go hand in hand. Both seek the same goals; control and power.
The best example is the unholy alliance of big government and big tech. By almost any definition, big tech has a monopoly over the distribution of information. However, no one dares to challenge it through enforcement of, for instance, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. This is crony capitalism in the truest sense of the term.
So I say yes to taxing the heck out of those who exploit coercive monopolies, yes to restrictions on public corporation contributions, and yes to tightening regulations on their activities.
At the same time, however, Republicans should champion small business with tax breaks, deregulation, and any other government incentives that help them compete with corporations who put profit before patriotism and corruption before the Constitution. Small business is where most jobs are created, where most competition actually exists, and where most owners are still striving for the American dream, not an unholy corporate-government alliance. Small business owners are the folks who are actually on the side of free-market capitalism and prosperity for all, and they should reap its rewards without interference and suppression by the government.
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A lot there. However, I must quantify this as an emotional reaction. Big corporations don’t mind regulation or even taxation. For them, regulation means adding another lawyer or two to a department. For small businesses, it’s one more weight that takes time, energy, and money away from doing business. Regulation crushes small business and indirectly supports big business. I know Tancredo says reduce regulation on small business, but how do you do that? What is the line that seperates small from big? Is it even constitutional? Would this make moving from small to big a higher hurdle for a growing business? The list goes on. As far as taxes, business just pass those on to consumers. Or worse, they leave the country for better treatment elsewhere. Because a ruling turns out to benefit the other side more is not an excuse to give up one’s principals, a lesson Republicans very much need to relearn. If the ruling was wrong, if we were wrong for supporting it, than say so and act accordingly. There are other ways to punish big business for getting TOO involved in politics.
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