July 25, 2016
By Roger Downs, Conservation Director, Atlantic Chapter
At the end of the 2016 legislative session, the Senate and Assembly announced that New York will be the 17th state to call for a federal constitutional amendment overturning Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission (FEC). The 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision unraveled over a century’s worth of campaign finance regulations. Compounded by the subsequent ruling McCutcheon v. FEC, it opened the door for big business and billionaires to spend unchecked amounts of money—anonymously—to influence our political process.
The environment has directly suffered from these rulings. Corporations, now considered people, are afforded freedom of speech or, in this case, the freedom to spend money on political campaigns. Dissidents have astutely pointed out that, unlike people, corporations do not breathe. This absurdity is compounded by the reality that those suffering from this egregious interpretation of the law — people, plants, and animals — do breathe, but their speech is no longer the accepted currency.
The American people are no fools. A recent poll showed that 80 percent of Republicans and 78 percent of all Americans nationally support overturning Citizens United. However, this overwhelming majority is drowned out by moneyed interests, many of whom have direct ties to the fossil fuel industry. Companies with interests in oil and gas contributed about $64 million to federal candidates in the 2014 cycle, almost double the total from 2010, and the highest in any mid-term election to date. This doesn’t include the tremendous amount likely given in undisclosed contributions to organizations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Albany’s track record of corruption warrants a skeptic’s lens in interpreting the legislature’s support of overturning Citizens United. The last four senators to hold the top leadership post (Joseph Bruno, Malcolm Smith, John Sampson and Dean Skelos) have all faced criminal charges and have been convicted for public corruption, an indication of how deeply moneyed interests have sunk their teeth into our political system, and how it will take much more than a recommendation to Congress to pry them away.
New York’s political landscape is conducive for this democratic push. Honest politicians have become the exception, not the standard, and the voters have realized it. This announcement calling for overturning Citizen's United has the potential to galvanize voters, turning previous apathy (the 2014 midterm elections in New York saw an anemic 28.8 percent voter turnout) into impassioned engagement. In spite of the opportunity before them, the legislature failed to pass bold measures to get big money out of politics. These measures include closing the LLC loophole which essentially permits unlimited direct contributions to New York State candidates. Closing the loophold would allow public campaign funding through small-donor matching funds to empower the every-day voter.
Officially passing a constitutional amendment is more than feasible in the future, but we need statewide reforms now. New Yorkers have already demonstrated their grassroots might. In 2014, our relentless anti-fracking push paid off and we’re building upon that momentum to tackle the overwhelming challenges of climate change. But we know that thousands of voices can be easily muted with a single check in the right campaign coffer. As an example: the NYS Climate and Community Protection Act, which had the support of a majority of legislators, died in the Senate at the end of session because of the influence that big polluters hold over the upcoming fall elections.
Money in politics may be the biggest environmental issue facing New York. Solve the problem of campaign finance and passing common-sense legislation suddenly becomes easier. The legislature’s call for Citizens United to be overturned is a step in the right direction, but its immediate impact is nothing more than an acknowledgement of what the people of New York already know. We can’t wait for future congresses to solve today’s problems. The time to act is now.