For all the whining and moaning from the left side of the aisle about the Supreme Court's Citizen United decision, the recent election proved that that decision ultimately redounded to the benefit of the left by freeing unions to spend wildly in support of liberal candidates and causes:
California's tax hike was but one example of how, despite spending $400 million to help re-elect President Obama, America's labor unions had plenty of money to pour into crucial state campaigns. In many of these campaigns, labor thwarted efforts to cut taxes, rolled back laws it disliked, and generally cemented its reputation as the leading defender of big government at the state and local levels. ...
One reason labor could fight these state battles while also spending so heavily on the presidential campaign was the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision, which held that unions could use members' dues money to deliver political messages to nonunion voters. Previously, unions could target those voters only with funds from voluntary donations. The difference, labor leaders have claimed, helped President Obama win key swing states.
Yet labor continues to claim that Citizens United, which also lifted corporate restrictions on independent political spending, really benefits big business. ...
