Overturning more than 100 years of settled law, a federal judge in Virginia found that a ban on corporate campaign contributions to candidates is unconstitutional. It appears that in the case, U.S. v. Danielczyk, United States District Judge C. Cacheris did not consider a 2003 Supreme Court case, FEC v. Beaumont, upholding the constitutionality of a ban on direct corporate contributions to federal candidates.
Coming on the heals of 2010's Citizens United Supreme Court case, this ruling essentially gives corporations free reigns during elections. While Citizens United essentially gave corporations and labor unions the right to contribute to political campaigns, this ruling removes any restrictions from corporations contributing directly to political campaigns. Elections are essentially up for sale now. While politicians have been bought and sold by lobbyists for years, this allows corporations the right to decide who gets into office. We've entered a 2nd Gilded Age.
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