Part Three, Chapters 11-13, Money Talks, Samuel Alito's Question, The Rookie Summary and Analysis

The fight over Citizens United was just a manifestation of a broader debate in American political life about the relationship between corporate power and free speech. Those on the small government, libertarian side hold that corporations should be able to act as they like, whereas those on the larger government, left-liberal side hold that corporate contributions should be restricted to protect the integrity of the democratic process. The saga is over one hundred years old, starting with the 1886 case, Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad, an odd case where corporate personhood was endorsed by the SCOTUS but there was no clear explanation for their decision.

The court at the time was quite conservative and this trend continued into the 20th...