this post was submitted on 26 May 2024
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US Authoritarianism

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[–] [email protected] 46 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Killing Oil Company CEO's should not be considered a crime at this point. For how long are theese companies allowed to get away with this? I guess until we "peasants" are occupied with killing each other for the left over scraps.

[–] Cosmonaut_Collin 4 points 6 months ago

They will just rebrand their title from CEO to something else. There's always a legal loophole and they have lawyers to find it.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 6 months ago (1 children)

How are campaign promises that result in contributions not considered quid pro quo bribery? I know it's hard to prove cause and effect in these cases, but surely situations like this must be among the easiest to prosecute..

Sure, there's no "quox part yet, but you can still go to jail for hiring an assassin even if the assassination isn't attempted.

[–] Xuderis 6 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Political donations by corporations are considered free speech.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._FEC

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010), is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States regarding campaign finance laws and free speech under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The court held 5–4 that the freedom of speech clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting independent expenditures for political campaigns by corporations, nonprofit organizations, labor unions, and other associations.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, I'm aware that corporations are now people; that doesn't make quid-pro-quo legal.

If I'm a politician, and we're in a room together, and I say, "if you donate a million dollars to my campaign I'll vote in your favor," and you do, and I do, and the conversation was recorded - that's a reasonably prosecutable quid-pro-quo case, isn't it?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Because Republicans consider it simple expression. So donations totally just saying you support the person and definitely not legal bribery

As Kennedy wrote, "If the First Amendment has any force, it prohibits Congress from fining or jailing citizens, or associations of citizens, for simply engaging in political speech."

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago

Hm. Quid pro quo is definitely illegal, and prosecutable. You're saying that because I say "I promise to give you X if you pay me Y" while I'm campaigning, that I'm protected from prosecution? Do I have to be actively campaigning? Does it have to be before a crowd? Can I -- as a politician -- sit in a room and promise to hand something to a "donor" simply by wrapping the conversation in some campaign-ish wording? Is "I was campaigning for office when I took the bribe" a catch-all defense?

[–] WhatAmLemmy 23 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Wealthy criminals have been bribing politicians for as long as democracy has existed. The only thing that's changed is the size of their wealth, and conservatisms PsyOps is so successful they can now be openly corrupt without consequence.

[–] apfelwoiSchoppen 9 points 6 months ago

The Citizens United decision and the Patriot Act well and truly FUBAR'd this country.

[–] blazera 8 points 6 months ago

such an outrage. Im sure everyone will stop electing people that support this legalized bribery.

Ill get my shocked pikachu face ready for november

[–] FlashMobOfOne 4 points 6 months ago

This is definitely bad, but it's also 100% a both sides issue.

Why do you think it costs half a million dollars (at least) to get five minutes with the candidate at one of the national conventions?