Former Sen. Russ Feingold @@http://www.progressivesunited.org/@@spoke about corporate influence in the United States to an audience of about 450 people Monday afternoon in the EMU Ballroom.
The talk was part of the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics lecture series and focused on the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.@@http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/citizens-united-v-federal-election-commission/@@
During his 18 years in office,@@http://www.progressivesunited.org/about/russ-feingold@@ the Democratic senator from Wisconsin was considered one of the most progressive lawmakers and championed campaign finance reform and civil rights. He ardently opposes the Citizens United decision, which allows corporations to give unlimited amounts of money to political candidates. In 2011, he founded Progressives United, a group that seeks to limit corporate power in U.S. politics.@@see link above@@
“Speech doesn’t corrupt. Money corrupts. And money is not speech,” Feingold said Monday.@@preach on, brothah-man!@@ He repeatedly called the court’s decision “ridiculous” and said it gives “unprecedented power to corporations to corrupt our democracy” — a statement that prompted cheers from the crowd.
Feingold said that although American democracy is threatened by corporate influence, the Occupy Wall Street movement — which has spread to cities across the United States and the world — shows signs of hope for a new era of political change.
“It is not an impossible task to reverse this decision,” he said.
Feingold pointed to disclosure laws and how the Internet provides a means to overcome corporate dominance. He cited the 2008 presidential election in which then-candidate Barack Obama emerged as a serious primary contender after raising unprecedented amounts of money from grassroots organizations, not corporations.@@I believe they came from personal donations from his postings online, but since this is something Feingold cited…@@
“Corporate money was rocked by the Internet. Corporations saw the face of democracy, and it terrified them,” Feingold said.
Though Feingold said he is hopeful that corporations will not threaten American democracy, a few University students at the lecture didn’t share the same sentiment.
“When the voice of the majority of Americans is drowned out by money,” University student Joe Jackson@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=joseph+jackson@@ said, “should we question if our best days are behind us?”
University senior Sam Brickwedde doesn’t have much hope for reform either.@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Brickwedde@@
“The legislative process is like trying to drive to San Diego from Los Angeles,” Brickwedde said. “It should take an hour, but ends up taking eight.”
Still, one student in attendance took the message to heart. Junior Kody Barnett@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Kody+Barnett@@ said he is not convinced the nation’s best days are in the past. He said that although there is a lot of apathy toward politics among young people, the Occupy movements suggest there is hope. He attended the first Occupy Eugene movement on Oct. 15 because he wanted to be a part of what he called a “refreshing political movement.”
“The movements give me hope and confidence in my abilities to enact change,” he said.
Although the political process can seem daunting to young people, Feingold said that he hopes the younger generation doesn’t lose faith in their government.
“No generation has had greater tools for change,” Feingold said. “I am optimistic for the long run.”