"When the Supreme Court issued its 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. FEC, the floodgates opened for unlimited corporate and dark money to pour into American elections. Billionaires could now bankroll candidates anonymously. Super PACs flourished. And a once fringe concept-that money is speech, and corporations are people-became enshrined in constitutional law. As Justice Anthony Kennedy's legacy is cemented with fawning profiles timed to his new memoir, Life, Law & Liberty, it's worth recalling his role authoring the decision that devastated American democracy."
"Anthony Kennedy's story begins in mid-20 th-century Sacramento, California, a city that resembled the fictional Hill Valley from Back to the Future -bustling, idyllic, and full of white picket fences. But beneath its charm lay California's version of a political swamp. As the state capital, Sacramento teemed with lobbyists, politicians, and a steady flow of money greasing deals over everything from water to redevelopment."
"Kennedy's father was at the center of this world. A powerful lawyer and lobbyist, he ran a thriving business of influence-peddling focused on the state legislature. When Kennedy's father died of a heart attack in 1963, 27-year-old Anthony took over the firm. In his early career as a lobbyist, Kennedy quickly earned a reputation for his skill in distributing campaign money to legislators on behalf of his clients."
The 2010 Citizens United v. FEC ruling opened the door to unlimited corporate and dark-money spending in U.S. elections, enabling anonymous billionaire funding and a surge in Super PAC activity while enshrining the notion that money equals speech and corporations enjoy personhood protections. Anthony Kennedy emerged from mid-20th-century Sacramento, where political influence and money shaped governance. Kennedy inherited his father's influential lobbying firm in 1963 and built a reputation for distributing campaign funds to legislators. Political ties connected him to figures like Ed Meese and Ronald Reagan before a presidential recommendation led to a federal judgeship in 1975.
Read at Slate Magazine
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