Understanding the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the Citizens United case. How bad is it? What do we do now?
Last month, a narrow majority of the United States Supreme Court issued one of the most controversial and potentially far reaching decisions in recent American history when it discovered a constitutional right for corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on politics.
According to E.J, Dionne of the Washington Post, the Court's ruling in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission was "an astonishing display of judicial arrogance, overreach and unjustified activism. Turning its back on a century of practice and decades of precedent, a narrow right-wing majority on the court decided to change the American political system by tilting it decisively in favor of corporate interests."
To help North Carolinians makes sense of this remarkable decision and begin to chart a path forward, NC Policy Watch (along with our friends at the government reform group N.C. Voters for Clean Elections) are hosting a very important Crucial Conversation luncheon. All who care about the preservation of democracy as we know it should consider attending.
The event will feature one of the nation's top experts in the field of voting rights, campaign finance reform and election reform issues, Brenda Wright. Wright is a veteran civil rights attorney and the Director of the Democracy Program at the national public policy research and advocacy organization, Demos. She has argued two voting rights cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and has extensive experience as a speaker and writer on voting rights, voter suppression, access to voter registration, campaign finance reform, redistricting, election protection, Department of Justice oversight, and other election reform and democracy issues.
Please join us for this special
NC Policy Watch Crucial Conversation luncheon-
Can this democracy be saved?
The Citizens United decision and what it means for our future
When: Tuesday March 2, 2010
(registration @ 11:30 am, presentation begins at 12 noon and concludes by 1:30 pm)
Where: Marbles Kids Museum, 201 E. Hargett Street, Raleigh NC 27601
Cost: $10 (includes a box lunch) Pre-registration required
