Pres Obama referred to "one hundred years" of law being overturned by the recent Citizens United Supreme Court case. It would seem that may be determined by the passage of the Tillman Act of 1907-under TR. This act "...banned corporate donations to federal campaigns". The McCain-Feingold Act of 2002 on campaing contributions was "...partly overturned". The Citizens United decision brought up another issue; that being the rule that corporations are individuals in regard to free speech rights. That point was first made in 1886 in the Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company case. The issue here is "corporate personhood". Another case of interest here is the Buckley v. Valeo ruling of 1976 stating that "...the expenditure of money is a form of speech protected by the First Amendment" (but burning a draft card was not protected; O'Brien v. US 1968). The Valeo case "...allowed individuals unlimited spending in pursuit of political ends...".
(Source: "Democracy Inc" editorial. "Corpus Ex Machina" by Patricia J. Williams. The Nation on 2/15/10).
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