How Citizens United Sold American Democracy to the Highest Bidder
“A Rejection of the Common Sense of the American People” On January 21, 2010, the Supreme Court handed down one of the most destructive decisions in American history. In Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, five conservative justices struck down restrictions on corporate political spending, opened the floodgates to unlimited money in politics, and fundamentally corrupted American democracy. The numbers tell the story: Outside spending exploded 28-fold, from $144 million in 2008 to over $4.2 billion in 2024. Dark money groups have poured more than $4.3 billion into elections from undisclosed sources. Just 100 billionaires spent $2.6 billion in the 2024 election—nearly 20% of all spending. ...