Tipsheet

Kagan and free speech--Hatch speaks the truth

Good job Orrin Hatch! Finally, someone pressing the issue that Barack Obama was not telling the truth when he said that the Citizens United SCOTUS decision reversed 100 years of law. That 1900-era law, the Tillman Act, was about restricting corporate contributions. The Citizens United case had nothing to do with limiting contributions; it was about limiting speech by saying that anyone who gives money to a corporate group (such as the Family Research Council or the American Civil Righyts Union), if that corporation speaks against candidates, they will go to prison. Citizens United reversed only two cases, that were inconsistent with over a dozen cases on the books which held that corporate groups have First Amendment rights.

It's about time someone set the record straight.