Dems Fight High Court's Campaign Finance Ruling

Democratic legislators introduced a bill yesterday designed to mitigate the impact of the landmark Supreme Court ruling that gutted decades of campaign finance reform efforts. They’re hoping to get the bill passed ASAP, so corporate money can’t dominate the 2010 election—something that many fear would favor Republicans, the Los Angeles Times reports. But some Republicans have praised the ruling, meaning passing the bill might be tough, and some reform advocates say it won’t do enough.

Charles Schumer unveiled the bill yesterday, calling the ruling, which removes almost all limits on corporate political spending, “one of the most wrongheaded decisions in court history.” The new law would force CEOs to appear at the end of ads their companies purchase to give an “I approve this message,” tag—even if the ad buy came through a separate company set up for political advocacy. It would also ban election spending by foreign-owned corporations.