Alito's OWN Remarks Show - Obama is right on the (foreign) money

[kpete]

Thursday, Jan 28, 2010 17:29 EST
Joe Conason

Obama is right on the (foreign) money
Right-wingers scream that Obama distorted the Citizens United decision. But Alito's own remarks show they're wrong

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Although the scope of the latest problem created by the court may be a matter of speculation, there is no doubt that unbridled corporate contributions will open the way for foreign interests and individuals to intervene in U.S. politics -- so long as their money is laundered through a company incorporated in this country.

So warned Justice John Paul Stevens in his partial dissent from the majority decision, saying that the decision by the court’s Republican majority "would appear to afford the same protection to multinational corporations controlled by foreigners as to individual Americans" -- and the other three justices, appointed by Democrats, noted their agreement.

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None other than Alito himself piped up to affirm the same point moments later.

"Well, Mr. Olson," he asked, "do you think that media corporations that are owned or principally owned by foreign shareholders have less First Amendment rights than other media corporations in the United States?" Replied Olson, "I don’t think so, Justice Alito, and certainly there is no record to suggest that there is any kind of problem based upon that."

more:
http://www.salon.com/news/state_of_the_union/index.html?story=/opinion/conason/2010/01/28/foreignbucks

[eleny]

1. _

[spooky3]

2. to be fair, Alito is raising a question rather than asserting his position.

Even if he is using bad grammar in doing so ("fewer" rights, not "less" rights).

[Old Codger]

3. He did so

In order to get it into the record as a fact therefor would be included in the decision.