With corporations able to completely finance a candidate... will political parties cease to exist?

[scheming daemons]

Why wouldn't every single politician end up being an "independent"?


Why would any politician need a party apparatus anymore? The GOTV operations? Please... Walmart could hire 100 times the people that any political party could.


Campaign staff.. campaign operations... everything. Every damn candidate would be Perot - only with 1000 times more resources.


Both the Democratic and Republicans parties will become irrelevant within a decade. Normally, I'd say that's a good thing.


But they'd be replaced by conglomerations of corporations that would create a candidate and campaign and not have to put a "party" label on him or her.


Interesting that all of the campaign restrictions on political parties are still intact after the ruling.


The parties have been neutered, and will be obsolete by 2020 if this ruling stands.

[Ozymanithrax]

1. no, because parties are a useful comfortable front.

[TTUBatfan2008]

7. Exactly...

The two party system still has quite a few people in the "us against them" mode on the grounds of ideology. Instead we need to be in the "freedom vs. corporate fascism" mode of thinking. A lot of people are too blind to realize it, but the parties are a perfect disguise for an agenda that continues moving forward no matter which party is in power.

[FarCenter]

2. Isn't that the way it is now?

During the primaries, people contributed to the Obama campaign, the Clinton campaign, the Edwards campaign...

The funds didn't go through the party organizations.

[tekisui]

3. I don't think so.

Elected reps will still have to build coalitions. They will still have to persuade other reps to sponsor and support legislation.

It will take longer for the corporate interests to own everyone. They will still have to answer to voters. It will be harder to get through to voters, but results and outcomes will still determine where voters go. If legislation isn't working for them, it really doesn't matter how much money is behind the person screwing them.

[Alamuti Lotus]

4. ...do they currently exist?

These have been rival factions of the Business Party for quite some time already, what is really changed besides formalizing what has long been in place?

[bemildred]

5. Political parties are already theatrical constructs.

It would not be much of a change to equate them with corporations. The only problem is it would mean there are more than two, and that it would require a lot of new scripts and mission statements and that sort of thing to be written.

[tonysam]

6. There will be only ONE political party--the Republican Party

Nader's rhetoric to the contrary, corporations are overwhelmingly Republican.

THAT is what this decision is REALLY about. The GOP was on the sidelines, and the high court has given the party a permanent lifeline.

[Old and In the Way]

12. And all the rubes, morons, and idiots will be really happy....

for a while. They'll marvel at how awesome their Party is, kicking Democratic butt...until stuff they take for granted is taken away. Stuff like consumer safety, healthcare, public education, and other 'socialist'programs are no longer available to them. The decades of voting against their best interests will start paying big dividends - just not for them. And there won't be a damn thing they (or we) can do about it.

[Old and In the Way]

8. Don't worry, I see a new bipartisan movement growing from this.

The selected lawmakers (D-Verison and R-Comcast and the I-NewsCorp) will help fix the internets so that places like DU and FreeRepublic will cost big money to access...but FoxNews/Sports/Entertainment will get you all the bandwidth you need! Soon we won't have to worry about what they're doing in Washington, it will be none of our business.

[brewens]

9. I wonder if candidates that don't accept corporate money

can get overwhelming support because they don't? Why would independents support corporation candidates?

[spanone]

10. they can partner up...certain industries will elect friendly representatives

[crazylikafox]

11. Just think, now our politicians can sell their naming rights, just like our public stadiums

Diaper David Vitter can now be Huggies Snug & Dry Senator Vitter.

Any other suggestions?

[robo50]

13. Yes, I'm voting for the Marlboro man, and the McDonald's clown

Oh wait, that was Cheney and Bush.......

Never mind.