The moderators of the ABC-sponsored Presidential debate offered questions on a range of issues. They ignored, however, a major set of questions.
If MTA instead of ABC had moderated the debate, here are 10 questions we would have made sure to include.
-----
"Good evening. Welcome former President Trump and Vice President Harris. We'd like to begin tonight's debate asking the both of you the following questions.
-
Each election season has set new records in money raised and spent since the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court decision. The 2024 Presidential and Congressional elections are no different. Do you support overturning Citizens United?
- The corrupting effect of money donated (or invested) in elections from the super rich precedes Citizens United. It originated in Buckley v Valeo, another Supreme Court decision in the 1970’s that defined money as First-Amendment protected free speech. Do you believe money equals free speech?
- The Supreme Court in yet another decision, First National Bank of Boston v Bellotti, asserted that corporations for the first time had the First Amendment political free speech rights to spend or invest money on political elections. Do you believe any corporation, which may have literally unlimited economic resources, should have First Amendment political free speech rights?
- Consumers often lack basic information about ingredients in food products, energy alternatives and other basic needs because corporations assert First Amendment rights NOT to speak that were granted by courts. Do you believe the rights of individuals to basic heath and safety information should take precedence over the constitutional right of corporations not to disclose such information?
- Surprise public inspections of corporate plants and factories to protect the safety of workers, facilities and the external environment are often illegal due to Fourth Amendment so-called "privacy rights" of corporations. Do you believe that a corporation should have these rights that were originally intended under the Bill of Rights to apply exclusively to individuals?
- Many environmental scientists claim that a fundamental way to prevent the further destruction of our climate is to keep fossil fuels (i.s. oil, gas and coal) in the ground vs finding “cleaner” ways to burn them. Doing so would likely result in fossil fuel corporations claiming Fifth Amendment so-called “takings rights" resulting in lost future profits of tens of billions, if not trillions of dollars in compensation. Do you agree that individuals should have the right to a livable world over fossil fuel corporations claiming Fifth Amendment constitutional rights that were intended under the Bill of Rights to apply exclusively to individuals?
- Communities are often unable to provide preferential economic or regulatory support to locally owned businesses due to big box chain stores claiming "discrimination" under the Fourteenth Amendment. Do you support corporations having the ability to overrule local communities by claiming constitutional rights that were intended exclusively to liberate former enslaved human beings?
- Former President Trump: You stated in 2015 ““The fact is that whether it’s Jeb or Hillary or any of them, they’re all controlled by these people and the people that control them are the special interests, the lobbyists, and the donors.” If you sincerely believe money in politics is a "yuge" problem, would you, if elected. do everything in your power to encourage Congress to enact the We the People Amendment (HJR54) that would allow We the People to regulate money in elections and end corporate rule?
- Vice President Harris: When you first ran for the U.S. Senate in 2016, you took Move to Amend’s Pledge to Amend which states: “I support amending the U.S. Constitution to make clear that corporations and other artificial entities do not have Constitutional rights and that money is not speech and campaign spending should be limited through regulation.” Would you, if elected. do everything in your power to encourage Congress to enact the We the People Amendment (HJR54) that would allow We the People to regulate money in elections and end corporate rule?
- Finally, to you both. Constitution Day is next week, September 17. While the Constitution was in some ways revolutionary compared to exclusive rule by a King or Queen in other ways it affirmed political control of a privileged minority over the majority. What other changes to the Constitution do you support to make it more just and relevant to our current times?
[Other questions asked.]
"Thank you both for being here. We invite everyone to go to MovetoAmend.org (especially to our Corporate Constitutional Rights Resources page) to learn more about the issues of corporate rule and the corrupting influence of money in elections that are completely ignored by the corporate media, as well as to take action.
"Finally, both candidates tonight and their respective organizational supporters will spent several billion dollars in this election. A large percentage of this funding will come from billionaires and indirectly from major corporations. By contrast, Move to Amend runs on a budget of a couple hundred thousand dollars -- a large percentage coming from individual grassroots supporters and none of it from billionaires and business corporations. If you must donate to political candidates, please consider setting aside some funds to "elect" the only grassroots-based movement seeking to abolish corporate rule by donating to Move to Amend at movetoamend.org/donate.
"Thank you and good night."
