{"id":38190,"date":"2012-03-22T07:03:35","date_gmt":"2012-03-22T13:03:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=38190"},"modified":"2012-03-26T10:04:09","modified_gmt":"2012-03-26T16:04:09","slug":"dem-cd1-candidates-oppose-citizens-united","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2012\/03\/dem-cd1-candidates-oppose-citizens-united\/","title":{"rendered":"Dem CD1 candidates oppose Citizens United"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>

The U.S. Capitol building (Photo by Heath Haussamen)<\/p><\/div>\n

Marty Ch\u00e1vez, Eric Griego and Michelle Lujan Grisham also talk about other reform proposals they support.<\/h4>\n

This post continues a series on the U.S. Senate and 1st Congressional District<\/a> candidates\u2019 stances on various policy issues.<\/em><\/p>\n

All three Democratic candidates for New Mexico\u2019s 1st Congressional District seat in Congress support overturning the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s Citizens United decision<\/a>, which tossed out limits on political spending by corporations and unions.<\/p>\n

Marty Ch\u00e1vez<\/a>, Eric Griego<\/a> and Michelle Lujan Grisham<\/a> all said they support efforts by U.S. Sen. Tom Udall<\/a>, D-N.M., and others to overturn Citizens United<\/a> with a constitutional amendment. Ch\u00e1vez also said re-electing President Barack Obama is important to the effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe that one of the most effective ways in which to turn this around is to ensure the re-election of President Obama so that he will be nominating any openings that might occur on the Court,\u201d Ch\u00e1vez said.<\/p>\n

The \u201cgovernment\u2019s ability to effectively represent the people is under assault\u201d by Citizens United, Griego said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe that corporations are persons deserving of constitutional rights equal to real people,\u201d he said. \u201cThey should be subject to regulations limiting their ability to influence the political process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lujan Grisham said Citizens United and lower-court rulings have proven to be a \u201cmajor detriment to our electoral system \u2013 beyond what I think the Supreme Court envisioned.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur democracy is at stake if we do not take immediate action to reverse that decision,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

All three also talked about other reform proposals they support.<\/p>\n

The candidates made their comments in response to questions from NMPolitics.net about the influence of money in politics and ethics reform. NMPolitics.net gave the candidates no word minimum or limit, telling them to say what they had to say. The only criterion was that they not engage in personal attacks.<\/p>\n

Here are the questions NMPolitics.net asked on money in politics and ethics reform:<\/p>\n