Spotlight on Dark Money

inthesetimes.com — The re-election of President Barack Obama and the strengthened Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate present an opportunity to undo Citizens United—an opportunity that would not have been possible had Mitt Romney won or the Senate majority flipped.

Romney was on record supporting the decision. In fact, he wanted to expand it to repeal the century-old ban on corporations giving directly to candidates from their treasuries.

Although Senate Democrats are still far short of a filibuster-proof majority, they do have more leverage—if they have the stamina and stomach—to insist on some ameliorations of Citizens United. And they have the platform to demand that the vacancies be filled on the Federal Election Commission, which have crippled enforcement of the weak laws that remain “constitutional” under this Court.

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