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Campaign finance watchdog: Lame duck bill would be “Citizens United on Steroids” for Michigan

Capitol Building in Lansing, MI
Matthileo
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Flickr - http://j.mp/1SPGCl0
Capitol Building, Lansing, MI

There isn't much we in America can agree on these days.

However, some might say we are pretty well united on one thing: Most of us think the Citizens United ruling stinks and needs to go.Citizens United is the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision that permits corporations or unions to spend as much money as they want to convince voters to vote for or against a candidate.

A Bloomberg Politics poll last year found 78% of the people who were asked think this decision wasn't good for the country and should be overturned.

That hasn't stopped progress on a state bill that's similar to Citizens United that's been passed by the Michigan Senate and is on track to get through the House, likely during this lame duck session.

Craig Mauger of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network wrote in an op-ed in the Detroit Free Press that Senate Bill 638 is "Citizens United on steroids". He joined Stateside to talk about what this bill means for Michigan and why it's worse than the original Citizens United ruling. 

Listen to the full interview above to hear more about the bill, what the chances are that it will pass, and what this could mean in the long-term for Michigan if it does get passed.

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Stateside is produced daily by a dedicated group of producers and production assistants. Listen daily, on-air, at 3 and 8 p.m., or subscribe to the daily podcast wherever you like to listen.
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