Spitzer explained, as he has before, that the Court's decision is consistent with with the First Amendment.
"Now, having said that, Bill, we rarely disagree. I am with the ACLU [American Civil Liberties Union] on this one. I think as a First Amendment principle, Citizens United was correct."
He told Maher that there is no distinction between some shows on the airwaves — all owned by corporations — and a company's participation in politics through paid advertising.
"Your show is owned by a corporation," Spitzer said to Maher. "You have a First Amendment right. And so I don't know how you distinguish between the New York Times editorial page, The Rachel Maddow Show, George [Stephanopoulos]'s show — all owned by corporations."
"The First Amendment," he reminded Maher, says government "shall pass no law abridging the right of speech."
"Doesn't say by anybody. It says speech. I don't care whose speech it is. The ACLU agrees with me, and Larry Lessig, great academic, on this. So this is a more textured issue. It has done horrific things to politics. But as a First Amendment issue, it's a much more complicated issue."
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/02/18/eliot-spitzer-bucks-liberal-orthodoxy-citizens-united-was-correct/#ixzz1mrAcijC8
