Portman emails re Citizens United

[Marthe48]

On Sept. 6th, I signed a petition and wrote a comment. I addressed my comment to Senator Sherrod Brown, but it went to Portman as well:

Dear Senator Brown,
I know that we are of the same mind on Citizens United. My husband and I are going to contribute to some of the candidates we'd like to see elected or reelected in 2014. We are on a fixed income, so when we contribute, it means we are going to skip dining out, or taking a drive for no reason, or giving up some other small pleasure. A lot of us who make contributions to a candidate have to make choices like this. But that's ok, because my husband and I trust the candidates we go an extra mile to support is going to remember why he or she was elected, and will strive to remember the individual constituent who voted for an individual politician. Citizens United wiped that out. My husband and I are competing against the very wealthy, or in the case of corporations, non-human entities who can literally shovel money into the maw of a political machine, turning a train into a juggernaut and ultimately derailing our Democracy. As individual citizens, we would like to have a level playing field, where there is a limit to how much one person can spend. And we would love to see corporations entirely stripped of any semblance of personhood. Once and for all, a business is a business, not a person, and there should be no question of a non-human entity having that same rights of an actual human. Thank you for your consideration.

I got this non-reply from Portman today:

From: Senator Rob Portman <[e-mail]>
To:
Sent: Monday, September 15, 2014 3:58 PM
Subject: Responding to your message

Dear Martha,
Thank you for contacting me to express your views on Senate Joint Resolution 19 (S.J.Res.19), which proposes to amend the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The First Amendment states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
I understand and share your concerns about ensuring the continued integrity of the federal election process. However S.J.Res.19 would have given Congress unprecedented authority to regulate political speech, undermining the very freedoms the First Amendment was meant to protect.
While I was unable to support S.J.Res.19, I am hopeful Congress can come to an agreement on campaign finance reform in the future. Any campaign finance reform must offer equal treatment and protection to unions, businesses, interest groups, and individuals, while also maintaining the right to free speech guaranteed by the First Amendment. Should any additional campaign finance reform legislation come before the U.S. Senate, I will be sure to keep your views in mind.
Thank you again for contacting my office. For more information, please visit my website www.portman.senate.gov . Please keep in touch.

Sincerely,
Rob Portman
U.S. Senator

I sent this reply to his website email address:

Mr. Portman,

You are nothing more than a you-lead-I-follow Republican and that is all you ever will be. As long as you get unrestricted $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ from donors who want what they want and not what is good and fair for this country, you will never display leadership. Every politician and justice who voted to allow unlimited contributions to campaigns is a lackey for the wealthy.

Martha Robbins

[freebrew]

1. I recieved the same email...

from Sen. Roy Blunt, (R)MO. I guess the R's have to get their propaganda from the same source.
I know Blunt isn't smart enough to come up with the language on his own.

[Marthe48]

2. Yep--you lead, I follow Republicans

You could get more independent thinking in an ant colony!