Al Franken: Founders Meant Buy Elections
on Saturday, January 3, 2015Al Franken Money Quotation saying Founders had no intention of the corruption we currently see in politics. Al Franken said:
“Call Me Crazy, but I don’t think when the founders envisioned free speech, they meant ‘let corporations spend millions of dollars to buy elections in America’ This is not how our elections should run” — Al Franken
Al Franken seems to be criticizing the influence of large corporate spending on American elections. Specifically, he doubts the founders intended the free speech protections of the First Amendment to allow corporations to essentially “buy elections” through massive campaign expenditures.
By invoking what the founders “envisioned,” Franken implies unlimited corporate political spending undermines democratic principles of one person, one vote. He suggests this level of financial influence over elections is inconsistent with how the system should properly function.
Overall, the quote indicates Franken believes corporations have gained too much control over elections through vast political spending made possible after the Citizens United ruling, which is not the democratic process the founders intended to establish.
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