Lever Time MONEYBOMB, Part 3: The Montana Plan To Kill Citizens United
Oct 30, 2025
Tom Moore, a campaign finance expert and Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, dives into the fight against Citizens United that has sparked a ballot initiative in Montana. He sheds light on how the Transparent Election Initiative aims to limit corporate spending in politics, detailing its potential to reshape political landscape nationally. Moore discusses Montana's history with corporate influence, the legal framework for restricting corporate powers, and the possibility of other states following suit in this reform movement.
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Corporations Are State Creations
- Corporations get their powers from state law, not from being born like people.
- States can therefore grant or restrict corporate powers including political spending.
Montana's Constitutional Fix
- Montana's plan would explicitly withhold the power to spend in elections from state-chartered corporations.
- That redefinition aims to sidestep Citizens United by changing the underlying state grant of corporate powers.
Anaconda Copper's Political Control
- Tom recounts Montana's history with Anaconda Copper's dominance and corruption in the early 1900s.
- That history led Montana to adopt strong anti-corporate political rules decades before Citizens United.
