Cry wolf when wolf is at your door

USSC 5-4 gave us this (Wolf at our door)???

Note: I am updating several previous posting to reflect a continued emphasis some issues that just will not go away - this is one. The following was originally posted 1/2/2010.

The 5-4 Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision invalidated a sixty-three year-old ban on corporate money in federal elections.

The ruling gives corporations essentially the same rights as individuals in their ability to spend freely on political advertising, even if those advertisements explicitly advocate the election or defeat of a federal candidate.

One consequence of this decision is that foreign corporations with U.S.-subsidiaries are likely to be able to now spend unlimited amounts on American elections

Many say we who oppose this are just crying wolf... well... okay, but when the wolf is at your doorstep with a moving van full of money, it's kinda late to cry anything except "Help..."

How about this tip? “The concern over foreign influence in our political system is a red herring,” said Nancy McLernon, the head of OII, who previously worked for Citizens for a Sound Economy, a stealth “grassroots” corporate lobbying group now known as Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks.  Saudi Arabia has already signaled that the progressive effort to build a clean energy American economy is its “biggest threat”: Saudi Arabia’s economy depends on oil exports so stands to be one of the biggest losers in any pact that curbs oil demand by penalizing carbon emissions. 

How about this from the Saudis:

“It’s one of the biggest threats that we are facing,” said Muhammed al-Sabban, head of the Saudi delegation to U.N. talks on climate change and a senior economic adviser to the Saudi oil ministry. [...] Climate talks posed a bigger threat, Sabban said, and subsidies for the development of renewable energy were distorting market economics in the sector, he said.

Presumably because of the Citizens United ruling, Saudi Arabian-owned subsidiaries operating in the United States can now spend unlimited amounts advocating the defeat of candidates who support clean energy legislation.

So, who is crying wolf now?  Unless and until Congress and the courts work to reverse this, I believe our entire electoral system is in jeopardy.

Wolf, wolf, wolf ...