Montana governor calls for amendment to overturn Citizens United

After the Supreme Court struck down a century-old Montana law limiting corporate campaign spending, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) and Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger (R) called on Congress to overturn the court's controversial Citizens United decision.

"Republicans and Democrats don't always agree on policy matters, but there is one thing we do agree on, and that is corporate money should not influence the outcome of an election," Bohlinger said in a video uploaded to YouTube.

The Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission held that limits on independent political contributions by corporations and unions violated the First Amendment, because political donations were a form of political speech. The ruling did not strike down limits on campaign contributions, but it paved the way for Super PACs, which can raise an unlimited amount of money to influence elections.

On Monday, the Supreme Court refused to reconsider the ruling and ruled the decision also applied to state campaign finance regulations in a 5-4 decision.

"The United States Supreme Court has just told the American people that the facts don't matter when it comes to protecting Montana and the country from corruption of corporate money in our democracy," Schweitzer said. "The United States Supreme Court blocked our law because they said corporations are people -- I'll believe that when Texas executes one."

The Montana governor noted that 22 state attorneys general had supported the state's unsuccessful effort to defend its Corrupt Practices Act.

"But the fight's not over," Schweitzer added. "We're going to overrule the Supreme Court with a constitutional amendment to make it clear that we the people are in charge -- not we the corporations."

Watch video, uploaded to YouTube on June 25, below: