Follow the Stink

Just as an afterthought, I told you to watch The Corporation (not now it’s 2+ hours) this morning. As fate would have it, the Supreme Court handed down a decision today that highlights what I was trying to get you to see.

Supreme Court Reverses Limits on Campaign Spending

”The ruling underscored the impact of former President George W. Bush's two appointments to the court. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito joined the five-justice majority in ruling that a central provision of the 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign-finance act violated the First Amendment by restricting corporations from funding political messages in the run-up to elections.“

Buried further down in the story were the details.

”The case before the court, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, originated in a 2008 feature-length movie critical of then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Citizens United, a conservative advocacy group, wanted to promote the film, but the election commission called it an "electioneering communication" subject to McCain-Feingold restrictions.“

You know me. I want to know who “Citizens United” is.

”Citizens United is a U.S. non-profit organization currently headed by President David Bossie. He has held this position since 2000. Its offices are on Pennsylvania Avenue in the Capitol hill area of Washington, D.C.

Citizens United was founded by Floyd Brown in 1988.”

Follow the bouncing ball. Who is Floyd Brown ?

”Floyd Gregory Brown (born 1961, Bremerton, Washington) is an American author, speaker and media commentator. He is president of Excellentia Inc., a consulting company specializing in non-profit organizational strategy, development and marketing. Brown has also worked as a political consultant and conducted opposition research for political campaigns. Brown is noteworthy for his introduction of the "Willie Horton" television ad during the Bush-Dukakis presidential race”

Have I mentioned that I love Wikipedia ? But back to the entry on Mr. Brown. (No relation. Hopefully.)

”Republican Party

He is active in the Republican Party and was a delegate to both the 2000 and 1996 National conventions. In 1996 he served on the Republican National Convention Platform Committee. He has been an advisor and consultant to the presidential campaigns of George W. Bush, Bob Dole and Steve Forbes for President campaigns. He was Midwest Regional Director of the Dole for President campaign in 1988, managing campaigns in Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and Nebraska.“

You need to read the whole thing -- and you need to know your history. Dole ran in 1996. George H.W. Bush was President from 1989-1993. So all those guys listed above hired Floyd Brown after George H.W. Bush’s campaign said this:

”The Bush-Quayle campaign eventually filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Brown, seeking to distance itself from his tactics,[13][14] and calling Brown and his associates "the lowest forms of life"[15].“

I left all those annoying footnotes in because one of them (#15) led me to a YouTube clip. Enjoy.



Don’t you wonder what corporations fund Floyd Brown and Citizens United ? Last I heard, buying TV time and taking a case to the Supreme Court was expensive.

Don Brown
January 21, 2010

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