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Last Wednesday when President Obama scolded the US Supreme Court, in front of the nation ---and the world, over a recent ruling, Justice Alito shook his head and mouthed the words, "not true."
Not to worry, the press landed squarely on the Justice and the story was about "respect," not truth.
We can only wonder if the outcome would have been different if President Bush would have been speaking and say, Justice Ginsburg, would have disagreed.
So, what's the truth?
The President said in his speech that the Supreme Court had "reversed a century of law to open the floodgates---including foreign corporations---to spend without limit in our elections."
Hans von Spakovsky, a legal scholar at the Heritage Foundation, says Congress did not ban independent political expenditures by corporations and labor unions until 1947---"but for three decades after the law was passed, the Supreme Court, 'went out of its way' to avoid upholding its constitutionality."
He says the President was "completely wrong" to claim the Supreme Court has cleared the way for "foreign corporations" to spend without limit on US elections.
He says, "There's a federal statute that bans foreign corporations, foreign governments, foreign political parties, and foreign individuals from not only contributing money, but also disallows them giving to independent political expenditures."
Von Spakovsky says President Obama should know better than to make those false claims because he taught a voting rights class at the University of Chicago that covered finance law.
He says, the president's statement was, "categorically and undeniable false."
Sometimes I wonder if we have been told anything else that is "categorically and undeniable" false.
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Gary Randall
President
Faith & Freedom
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