when citizens united, the supreme court decision came down, it basically said -- the decision basically said that corporations and unions don't have enough power. they don't have enough influence and they don't have enough money so they let them have unlimited powers on all those fronts, and that has finally thrown a big rock in the pond. the ripples have spread out and poem are finally getting it. i did a little research and was shocked to discover the thing that's really problem make the are the huge super committees, super pacs where there's very little disclosure or any and unlimited money can be raised. there's 149 super pacs out there, and just one of them is raising $240 million. so these super pacs are absolutely dwarfing the actual campaigns of the candidates. it's not really a campaign anymore between candidates. it's a campaign between special interests. >> at the end of the day, why -- i mean, it's so apparent. why is it that this auction process for our policy-makers, how did it get to this point? we always talk about the supreme court but you've been in the offices of so m

united, which is obviously a big part of the problem of citizens united. he said, directly in his decision, that there seemed to be no reason to think that there'd be any corruption, which is outrageous in and of itself, but i guess the point being, when i look at your language and jimmy's language and what dylan has talked about, i wonder, again, isn't it easiest to just say, no money. no money can be spent in these elections period, so that it's not about corporations or people or limited liability or unions, it's no money. >> well, look, i think there are two problems we need to address here. one is the issue of big money in our elections. and i think you're right. people are ready to say, get the money out. but i also think the second problem that has to be addressed and is as equally fundamental and important is this idea that corporations can be treated as people with constitutional rights. that not only occurs in the election contest, but it occurs in all other areas in which corporations go into court and they make claims, big, large corporations m

the first mid-term election following citizens united. although we see an upward trajectory in spending we do not usually see it quadruple. many commentators think that 2010 was a dress rehearsal for 2012. this is when corporations, unions and other big players who are trying to exploit the citizens united decision will really come into the fore. >> ifill: when we talk about super pacs, the term itself sounds sinister. who is behind it? and why are they different from regular pacs? >> well the super pac is a term to describe the new independent expenditure-only committees that could form. basically the citizens united decision said that labor unions and corporations could spend unlimited amounts of money independently of candidates to convince voters to vote for or against someone. >> ifill: without coordinate ing with thend candidates. >> that's a very important point. so these super pacs have been formed because they can raise money, you know, not just from individuals which is what pacs, political action committee, could do but they c

united with a constitutional amendment passing international single payer health care system and ending the wars it's working close to has yet to be adopted by the full general assembly in new york city the plans are underway to hold a national assembly meeting next year on july fourth in the city of philadelphia according to group's website one male and one female delegate from each congressional district will be elected by. local occupy movements and will converge on philadelphia to join others in creating a petition of grievances those grievances will then be submitted to all members of congress the supreme court and the president ahead of the two thousand and twelve elections well still unclear if other cities besides new york have agreed on this plan of action yet or even if new york is fully agree this is yet another sign that the occupy movement is growing and becoming more and more organized and specific and it's doing all this ordinary rallies around the world with hundreds of thousands of people all with out the help of secret millionaire public masters like the corps brothers

various parts of the progressive family calling together on a response to citizens united and you have a very specific budgetary it and i tom i was going to say you know at the nation immediately after that decision which we're coming on two years of we wrote an editorial called democracy in and we said with no quarter for sin a sin is cynicism or compromise this must be the battle of our times in the same way the amendment to end slavery the amendment to bring women's rights the vote women's. the right to vote as you know tom jane i we're talking about this you've been on this issue for many years but what this does is put our democracy at risk and we're seeing it sitting here today the super committee flooded with contributions we see it every day in our life because every issue we care about that would lead to civilize in advances is blocked is obstructed by the corporate money now just metastasizing through our system so the amendment strategy which you mentioned occupy minnesota is championing is critical it will be a long fight as jay and i know but we the people campaign dot org

united ruling artist welker said on facebook right on with the constitutional amendment activism ana the status quo of a corporation as a person is a fallacy of best if not an outstanding invitation for criminal activity minus the personal accountability and you know what i think ernest is absolutely correct of the status quo is simply not working citizens united ruling has allowed money to further corrupt our already fragile political system and drown out the voices of everyday people even more and the occupy movement is evidence of that the bottom line here is that americans just don't see the government representing their needs above those of the fact cats it's as simple as that so in september just fifteen percent of americans said that they trusted the government to do the right thing always or most of the time and the approval for congress just tied an all time low at twelve percent so this point a constitutional amendment to get the corporate influence and money out of politics is just one step in the right direction and next don't respond to a viewer who watched our report on

>> it's not so much soup pacs but another vehicle empowered by the 2010 citizens united decision and one the kochs and operatives and donors had been taking advantage of for years but they used in the wake of president obama's election and in the wake of the citizen the united decision in a much more overtly political way. again, in 2010, they were able this combination of super pacs to coordinate on behalf of republicans. there's an open question as to whether they're going to sit down again or take it in their own direction and back more tea party oriented candidates that could cause trouble for republicans. >> well, they're going to be swimming in money either way. you indicate rove's operation will probably have a couple hundred million dollars. the koch brothers you think are going to have more than a couple hundred million dollars to throw into this. what is the problem for republicans if there's this giant swirl of money going around? why would they care about this tension between rove and the koch brothers? >> the potential problem, lawrence, is the koch brothers instead of b

here is what we can do about citizens united. we can dedicate ourselves to making sure that when one of the five justices that voted for the outrageous case either retires, leavis, or dies, that he or she -- that he, i should say, is replaced to somebody committed to overturning citizens united. that means, at the very least, we have to have barack obama as president of the united states, so he can make sure that we get decent supreme court justices in there. yes? >> [inaudible] >> how do we get decent people to run for office so we can get these jerks -- that is what you said -- out of there? how many of you have run for office? how many of you have run for political office? keep your hands up. let us everybody else applaud the people that have run for office. [applause] it is no fun, in most cases, to run for office. it is very hard. i ran for governor of massachusetts in 2002. out of six democratic candidates, i came in a close cent -- a close second. if i had run, i would have run against the republican nominee, mitt romney.

united case despite the arrests the movement continues to grow and gain support and perhaps more importantly fundraise the original and largest occupation in new york since the coddy park just revealed that it has raised more than three hundred thousand dollars in donations through its web sites and through passers by i bet hall now for a round up on what happened this weekend and where the movement the occupied general goes next i'm joined by sarah jaffe in new york she's an associate editor alter net and from chicago again your mouse yes miss so gloria press liaison for occupy chicago and brainchildren forces but occupy chicago one of the one hundred seventy five people arrested saturday and joining me here in the studios in d.c. anthony allen which is about member of the welcoming committee with occupy d.c. welcome to all of you have mangled anybodies in your badly if so please correct me . let me start out i'm curious first of all. in fact with. sarah. what personally has has been your big lesson out of this. my big lesson out of it is that i was simply too cynical i went down to this is

united case that monetary limit was lifted and corporations individuals even unions were allowed to give from their treasuries to giant super pacs so that when the rules really changed for political donations and the center for responsive politics determine that for the first half of two thousand and eleven about eighty percent of the existing super pac donations come from just fifty eight donors and it goes to show that a few key people out there are using their money to make sure the person that they want can select it as of now republican groups of race seventeen point six million dollars meanwhile the democrats have raised seven point six million little bit lopsided quite frankly now just in elliott of salon dot com is taking the time to investigate who to keep an eye on as we get closer to election day starting with the conservative side which is bringing in the most money we have american crossroads all roads an advisor to this red tinted super pac and it's staffed by former officials from the r n c and the chamber of commerce just to show how significant of a role this back p

united first on drug penalties even said i think generally the so-called war on drugs is emphasized more severe punishment than is appropriate throughout the country there are some instances where penalties are so disproportionate they could well violate the eighth amendment and stevens went after the citizens united decision decision he descended on laying out the absurdity of the money is speech argument saying if hollowed out to it's a lot of logical conclusion that would have provided first amendment protection of the watergate burglars they were financed with campaign expenditures so now the question is how do we kick clearcuts thomas off the court and put justice stevens back on. the bad bank of america c.e.o. brian moynihan first bank of america takes forty five billion in bailout money from we the taxpayer and the bank announces it will start charging a five dollar a.t.m. fee on the taxpayer because it has a right to make a profit yes that's ok so that's their quote and now the bank of america c.e.o. brian morning and wants us all to thank him and he is speaking at an employ

the citizens united case and the buckley versus vallejo case before it, put the power in the hands of the corporations who essentially make up our elections an auction. we need to change that. the message from the street is this system isn't working and people are determined to see a new system come forward and frankly this is what founders anticipated in order to create a more perfect union. this is what democracy looks like. that perfect union continues to evolve. >> you are both in the organizing business. you ran a campaign for president. you have your mayor. you keep your seat in congress. you're one of the nation's largest and most politically powerful unions. how do you get them off the streets? you want them on the streets protesting but how do you make energy and bodies and get them involved in campaigns? in working to do the business of changing things. all of the things you just mentioned to get them done, you have a democratic president. obviously if you want to do campaign finance citizens united you need votes in congress and you don't have them right now. how do you tak

because citizens united, the decision was based on the constitution, the first amendment. so it would essentially require qualifying or limiting the first amendment. but all of our amendments are, in fact, inherently limited, and this should not be a tough haul. but we need really citizen action to do it. because you were the equal rights amendment, with all of those passionate and involved women, fell short of its goal. that doesn't mean we shouldn't try. and by the way, what better thing for the occupy folks to take up as their cudgel. get big money out of our government, that's how to get rid of the income disparity. that's an important first step. >> and the three things i have looked to as we've gotten into this process, as my own encouragement and as a way to encourage others that are working with me and with us on what we know is a long mountain are this. one, the recent amendments based on fairness. this is clearly a fairness issue. if money is speech, it creates an inherent unfairness. we watched in the vietnam war a constitutional amendment to come up to get the

he was automatically a citizen of the united states. he was also a leading al-qaeda of terrorist acts. question, how big a blow is al- awlaki's demise to al-qaeda? pat. >> i think it's very big, john. he is believed to be the inspiration or the source of the fort hood killer, who killed 13 american soldiers and wounded 29 at fort hood n the largest massacre on an american military base. he is -- i don't know he is the operative chief of al-qaeda, but he is the principle public voice. i almost in that part of the world and certainly in yemen, and so that is a big victory for the united states. but i'll tell you that, john. the important thing is the united states has indicated ever since osama bin laden was taken down that they can run down and find and shoot and kill using drones or airstrikes and incredible number of al- qaeda leaders. it's astonishing -- they must have gotten a huge volume of intel from bin laden's computers or somewhere else

and the citizens and. this is. this. came later walker back saying he was just joking. he said in an event in tennessee that you would build an electrified fence on the border they could kill people if they tried to cross illegally that's a joke he jokes another joke that's a joke that's not a serious point it's not a serious point you've got to be glad that it does what you did that's a joke i've also said that america needs to get a sense of humor that was a joke. the sheriff joe arpaio isn't joking marilee he thinks that deadly electric fences are great i. am sure he was joking but he probably means that he's taking it serious to do something at the border and stop do you legal immigration but joking about killing illegal immigrants means cain is taking the immigration problems seriously i'm sure if cain want to joke about nuking mexico our would have fallen head over here. and that's very here. after the break herman cain says liberals are out to destroy this country and ideally take on a current game where she was out delivering pizzas again. what drives the world

and tell our citizens who the true people this is. this is. the. cain leader walking back saying he was joking. he said it in a van in tennessee to build an electrified fence on the border kill people because illegal that's a joke but when he jokes about a joke that's a joke that's not a serious but it's not a serious point you've got to be bad enough not what you did that's a joke i've also said america needs to get a sniff that was a joke. the sheriff joe arpaio is joking merrily he thinks the deadly electric fence is a great idea. but i'm sure he was joking but it probably means that he's taking it serious to do something at the border and stop the illegal immigration joking about killing illegal immigrants means cain is taking the immigration problem seriously i'm sure it came with a joke about nuking mexico are would have fallen head over. and that's very very. after the break herman cain says liberals are out to destroy this country in my daily take on a herman cain where he was out delivering pizzas again. what drives the world with the grow

united the most recent incarnation of it from the supreme court as i said in the legislature ever voted for it no president ever asked for it we need to amend the constitution and just remember that despair and disillusionment will not change anything in operatives paid is not an option we have to get active on this corporations are not people money is not speech moved to amend org so that to see how it can be done our next comment is from the message boards thom hartmann dot com last week i explained how the latest version of the senate democrats' jobs bill which included a want to add one percent surtax on income over a million dollars starting in january two thousand and thirteen we really only cost the super rich pretty much enough that really will raise enough money over the next ten years to cover the thirty five billion dollars cost of hiring and retaining about four hundred thousand teachers and emergency responders. what president obama and what joe biden and what what the democrats are proposing is that somebody who makes a million dollars does not pay an extra penny of taxes

united going to be hard to get that overturned we do want to thank you for joining us richard usko senior fellow at the campaign for america's future. well from anger over inequality in the u.s. to greece or folks there are more than angry over the latest austerity measures so calling for revolution just how serious are these protestors are he sara sara firth is on the ground and in the thick of things including tear gas ourselves. people like get me back very quickly all syntagma square as we call it take gas being used in the crowds we're not sure exactly who was setting off that everyone's just trying. to get this back by the riot police now there. are already troops. oh it's all the director of the of the muscle to. come order for. a lot of people that they wanted today to be peaceful once again. in the crowd this these here really very shocking we seem to visions of months of protests and styles today everyone united completely in their opposition to the government have tried to forget all the political system of groups and. people here do you feel it's truly angry seeing that anger

united because he does not believe that corporations are people who are protected under the first amendment and also when it comes to contributions we would like to see the contributions limited to one hundred dollars now that might seem like a tiny amount of money but it makes more sense to have publicly funded campaigns as opposed to having these private corporations fund these campaigns with hundreds of thousands of dollars because in the end as i mentioned you see people who are not being represented in the government and you see representatives passing deregulation and passing policy that is favorable to the big banks and to the corporations and it has completely infected our government and destroyed our democracy i'm just curious what was the response from those occupy wall street guys emails about that because one of the things is cannot have demands and so here's a very specific plan of action. you're absolutely right about that it's a very clear and concise goal and that's what i love about it and i think that's what most people love about it because it's something that you can loo

united which you raised whatever remnants of campaign law used to exist to hudson the michigan which blew the fourth amendment to smithereens ruling the evidence can be used after it was found by detroit police officers who stormed a home without announcing themselves and the conservative justices now hold a majority of the court he asked me that's a scary thing with so many important cases for your health and privacy set to come before the court in the coming months and keep in mind of course a supreme court is supposed to be about justice and not about partisanship unfortunately seems like that's a thing of the past and next i would respond if you are who watched my interview was seen as declan mccullagh on the u.s. finally signing on to act which the obama administration originally claimed was a state secret and to large parts of it were leaked make mac grasset on you tube every damn thing is a very thin state state secret just a way to continuously keep normal business as usual away from the people our movement is happening at the right time sure a needed to be done years ago dec

united january tenth. ten they just completely it was a game changer the supreme court ruled that corporations could spend unlimited campaign dollars i mean that was like throwing gasoline on a corrupt system you've got to get the money out of the system you've got to break up these big conglomerates reinstate some semblance of regulation and you've got to go after him with rico because if they're able to get away with this what is the deterrent for these too big to fail banks what's going to stop them from doing it again if they don't get face any kind of prosecution or remain right now the kids on wall street that you know they were criticizing they know all this they're connected all those dots the corrupt senator durbin from illinois not long ago said the banks own this owned the senate they own the senate that should have been a clarion call for campaign finance reform instead they've got a supreme court that is actually wants an oligarch he wants a corporate oligarchy to run our politics you've got a

united decision last year the roberts court overturned a century of election law in america to affirm that money is a form of free speech and declare the corporations both domestic and foreign and spend on limited amounts of their corporate treasure chests to influence american elections so with a slew of politically charged cases on the agenda this year just how dangerous could the roberts courts judicial activism be and so this nation and is it about time to reform how the high court does business nearly as a senior attorney with the institute for justice he joins me now to talk more about this issue of additional activism. thank you. the first well you wrote a piece for the wall street journal saying that judicial activism where you've got no judicial activism summarize that yeah if you do activism is a meaningless buzzword in terms of substance but it's a very powerful powerful we coracle device that in my opinion it's designed generally to undermine the ability of the court in the willingness of the court to say no to government we have a constitution that provides important limi