VINEYARD HAVEN, Mass. — President Barack Obama says Republicans should join him in opposing a Supreme Court ruling that vastly increased how much corporations and unions can spend on campaign ads.
Instead, the GOP wants to “keep the public in the dark” about who is behind the expenditures, Obama charged in his weekly radio and Internet address, released Saturday as he vacationed at Martha’s Vineyard.
“You’d think that reducing corporate and even foreign influence over our elections wouldn’t be a partisan issue,” Obama said. “But the Republican leaders in Congress said no. In fact, they used their power to block the issue from even coming up for a vote.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell scoffed at Obama’s message.
“Democrats are sending a clear message to the American people that their jobs aren’t as important as the jobs of embattled Democrat politicians,” said McConnell, R-Ky. “The president says this bill is about transparency. It’s transparent all right. It’s a transparent effort to rig the fall elections.”
At issue is the ruling this year in the case known as Citizens United that freed big businesses and unions to spend their millions directly to sway elections for president and Congress.The ruling was seen as mostly benefiting Republicans.
