The Supreme Court’s January 21, 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission struck me with a case of double vision. The decision said that corporations and labor unions have as much right as individuals to spend unlimited amounts for political advocacy. I cannot see corporations as being equivalent to natural persons and therefore do not agree with the constitutional theory that underlies the opinion. At the same time, however, I see out of my other eye some legislative ideas offered in response to the decision that have some merit but do not measure up to the underlying issue.

As my double vision cleared, I saw that it is time to shift paradigms. If we want to enhance democracy, democratic participation should be built up rather than squeezed down. Only a very small fraction of citizens contributes anything in most elections now, whether Federal, state or local. If even just 5 or 10 percent gave a small amount, we could fundamentally alter the system for the better. But for that to occur, the rules would have to change to encourage small donors, and that won’t happen if all of our energy is focused on boundary-line issues that marginally affect the political behavior of only those at the top. There is a limit to what one can accomplish through limits. We need to broaden the base of American democracy and re-energize what self-government means to average citizens.

In late April, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) introduced a bill in response to Citizens United. Their Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light on Elections (DISCLOSE) Act, endorsed by President Obama, contains four major sections.

The first two would prohibit election spending by corporations with $50,000 or more in government contracts, as well as by U.S. corporations with a specified minimum of foreign ownership or control. These provisions would reinstate bans on spending that had existed for all corporations before Citizens United, but would do so only for corporations that the sponsors believe they are still constitutionally permitted to reach.