Of all the bizarre decisions the U.S. Supreme Court has produced over its long and for the most part distinguished history, its decision in January in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ranks right up there with Bush v. Gore and Dred Scott for lacking any basis in common sense and for making a mockery of democratic ideals. When large corporations wield more political power than at any time since the late 19th century, the decision to treat them as persons with First Amendment free-speech rights in effect creates super-citizens who have at their disposal retained earnings and capacities to borrow against their capital exceeding the resources of almost every real citizen. The decision thereby consigns the rest of us to second-class citizenship.

Some argue that the Court’s decision will not lead to significant increases in corporate spending on political campaigns since there are so many other ways for them to pump money into the political process. That may or may not be so as time passes; the future is stretched out long before us. But as a practical matter, after Citizens United even the mere threat of a giant corporation spending money on this or that candidate may suffice to sway a politician. The rest of us don’t stand a chance of being heard on any but the most salient of issues. Because of this grotesque decision, our First Amendment rights have been diminished to the point where, although we can say whatever we want about a political issue and contribute to the candidate of our choice, we might as well be doing so on a different planet.