The Supreme Court of the United States handed down a decision today that will enhance the ability of the deepest-pocketed special interests to influence elections and the U.S. Congress, according to a pair of leading national campaign finance reform organizations, Common Cause and Public Campaign.

The decision in Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission, which overturned the ban on independent expenditures by corporations, paves the way for unlimited corporate and union spending in elections.

“The Roberts Court today made a bad situation worse,” said Common Cause President Bob Edgar. “This decision allows Wall Street to tap its vast corporate profits to drown out the voice of the public in our democracy. The path from here is clear: Congress must free itself from Wall Street’s grip so Main Street can finally get a fair shake. We need to change the way America pays for elections. Passing the Fair Elections Now Act would give us the best Congress money can’t buy.”

“This decision means more business as usual in Washington, stomping on voters’ hope for change,” said Nick Nyhart, president and CEO of Public Campaign. “Congress must take on the insider Washington money culture if it wants to make the changes voters are demanding. The way to do that is by passing the Fair Elections Now Act.”

Read the rest of this entry »

President Barack Obama’s first year in office has been a good news/bad news story for the environment, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.

Overall, the Center for Biological Diversity gives the president’s environmental record so far a “C.”

Why?

“Obama’s record, while much better than Bush’s, is disappointing so far,” the group’s executive director, Kierán Suckling, said in a press release. “He has not lived up to his campaign promises by a long shot.”

“Luckily,” Suckling said, “there’s still time to get him back on track: We have to show him America cares.”

On endangered species, the Obama administration revoked some damaging Bush-era policies, but also stripped protection from gray wolves in the Northern Rockies and the Great Lakes region.

On climate, his administration followed the Supreme Court’s lead and declared carbon dioxide a threat to human health and welfare…

Read the rest of this entry »