Attorney Rob Hager returns for our 6th report on the pending appeal at the Supreme Court of Montana’s ban on corporate campaign contributions; Author Eli Zaretsky explores the rich history of the American Left. Hager reports that he expects to hear about the Court’s June 14 conference on Friday or Monday, and we speculate that a decision on the Montana appeal may be announced after the Obamacare decision that is expected Friday. Hager explains why this case offers a much cleaner approach to overturning Citizens United, because even if an ideal amendment is passed, it will take 10 years, and that amendment will be subject to review by the Supreme Court. And he says it is very hard to come up with a simple, clear amendment that could withstand review and get money out of politics. You can follow the Court’s pronouncements at Scotusblog.com
At 38:50, Prof. Zaretsky joins us to talk about the history of the Left in the US. We open with the Occupy movement, which partly prompted Zaretsky to write his book. He thinks the system is broken, and that efforts to reform the 2-party system will just gum things up more. While most of us know something about FDR and the New Deal, Zaretsky offers context related to two of many movements that were influential at the time: NAACP and the CIO, Congress of Industrial Organizations.
at 1:12:00, Will Durst offers some comments about money in politics.
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