I stand with Hawaii on this from Las Vegas NV. Citizens United was a horrid ruling. How in the hell can the very rich have more than 1 voice in elections. 1 through their vote and 2 from the ads they create that are 95% lies. BTW how is it that you’re allowed to lie in campaign ads but you can’t lie in product advertisements? Lies should never be allowed in either type of ad
Hawaii is blazing a trail that we all should follow.. A democracy should not be bought and paid for (and therefore negated) by corporations and the super rich. Their motives are to help themselves...not us
Montana is working on undoing Citizens United too!
I hope every “blue” state enacts a similar law prior to the mid-terms, as the upcoming election is very important if we want to preserve our democracy. And the fact is, if fewer corporate PACs are allowed to spend heavily in advertising, it will help to negate the disastrous effects of the GOP gerrymandering in Southern states.
We need to shut down Jim Crow 2.0 with Citizens United 2.0!
Gratifying that one of the last territories to join the contiguous mainland has the cojones to defy the rapacious greedheads spawned by the likes of Citizens United.
And I don’t remember receiving an e-mail financial solicitation.
Here's my template for letters / emails to your state representatives:
May 24, 2026
Mike Matusky
XXXXXXX
XXXXXXX
Senator June Robinson
303 John A. Cherberg Building
PO Box 40438
Olympia, WA 98504
Dear Senator Robinson:
On May 14, 2026, Hawaii Governor Josh Green signed SB 2471 into law. Now called Act 011, the law states that corporations under Hawaii’s state laws do NOT have the power to spend money to influence elections or ballot measures. Act 011 is a challenge to Citizens United.
Because corporations are artificial “persons” created by the state, if the state charters them then the state gets to define exactly what powers those artificial “persons” get to have.
This law reaffirms that corporations, LLCs, partnerships, nonprofits only have the powers “necessary or convenient” for their legitimate business purposes. Influencing elections, funding ballot measures, bankrolling candidates and PACs are definitely NOT “necessary or convenient business purposes.”
A few key highlights:
•It applies to Hawaii-chartered entities AND to out-of-state companies that do business in the islands.
•Violations can lead to suspension of operations, loss of contracts, tax status revocation, or even dissolution.
•Individuals keep all of their First Amendment rights intact so no one is silenced.
The vote was unanimous in the Senate and near-unanimous in the House because legislators from both sides of the aisle recognized the problem of unchecked corporate influence. Please let me know where you stand on protecting Washington elections either by email at mfmatusky@XXX.com or by mail.
So true they think because they are ridiculously wealthy they should own everything and everyone! Money in politics is always a danger and the Republican Party seems to be addicted to the power of wealthy Americans and others!
“Citizens United didn’t just allow billionaires to buy elections . . . .” This sentence is misleading, if not out and out false. Citizens United didn’t allow billionaires to buy elections. Buckley v. Valeo did that way back in 1976, when the Court held that money is speech. Citizens United extended Buckley’s premise by allowing corporations to buy elections in 2010. In other words, CU Is based on Buckley. If Citizens United were overturned, billionaires could still buy elections under Buckley. Billionaire spending on campaigns is now a much bigger problem than corporations buying elections. (Think Miriam Adelson and Musk donating millions of dollars to Trump’s presidential campaign in 2024). This is not to detract from the efforts of Hawaii and other states to rein in corporate donations, that is, effectively blocking the impact of CU through their licensing laws. But doing so, will not have any impact at all on billionaires making “independent” donations on behalf of political candidates. Political operatives have nonetheless used CU as a fundraising tool, with very little to show for it except paying themselves. All of this can be researched, including the previous sentence. The NYT had a good article on Buckley and its enabling of billionaires to buy elections in May 6.
Love the perceptive, clear and concise writing of this article, which describes the insidious nature and the moral rot of the wealthy benefiting from buying and breaking our democracy. So well written! 👏👏👏 And a gigantic thank you to Hawaii for finding the state legislative solution for terminating this uncontrolled power grab by corporations and their lobbyists. 💙
Here is a summary of the Hawaiian law. Beware, the article says that it is constitutionally suspect, which was one of my questions. Still I hope that Hawaii, Montana, or some other state finds a way to overcome this and other horrid decisions by our corrupt Supreme Court.
Can States also amend corporate charters mandating that they be based on maximizing shareholder/stakeholder value or at least making it equal to stockholder value? Then companies would have an obligation to look after their employees, customers and communities and not just hedge fund managers.
Thank you Hawaii for doing this honorable move!👍👍👍
I stand with Hawaii on this from Las Vegas NV. Citizens United was a horrid ruling. How in the hell can the very rich have more than 1 voice in elections. 1 through their vote and 2 from the ads they create that are 95% lies. BTW how is it that you’re allowed to lie in campaign ads but you can’t lie in product advertisements? Lies should never be allowed in either type of ad
Hawaii is blazing a trail that we all should follow.. A democracy should not be bought and paid for (and therefore negated) by corporations and the super rich. Their motives are to help themselves...not us
We even have them on record saying they don’t believe in democracy.
Montana is working on undoing Citizens United too!
I hope every “blue” state enacts a similar law prior to the mid-terms, as the upcoming election is very important if we want to preserve our democracy. And the fact is, if fewer corporate PACs are allowed to spend heavily in advertising, it will help to negate the disastrous effects of the GOP gerrymandering in Southern states.
We need to shut down Jim Crow 2.0 with Citizens United 2.0!
Please post more about Montana's efforts!
Gratifying that one of the last territories to join the contiguous mainland has the cojones to defy the rapacious greedheads spawned by the likes of Citizens United.
And I don’t remember receiving an e-mail financial solicitation.
Aloha! Time to strum a few chords on the ukulele!
Here's my template for letters / emails to your state representatives:
May 24, 2026
Mike Matusky
XXXXXXX
XXXXXXX
Senator June Robinson
303 John A. Cherberg Building
PO Box 40438
Olympia, WA 98504
Dear Senator Robinson:
On May 14, 2026, Hawaii Governor Josh Green signed SB 2471 into law. Now called Act 011, the law states that corporations under Hawaii’s state laws do NOT have the power to spend money to influence elections or ballot measures. Act 011 is a challenge to Citizens United.
Because corporations are artificial “persons” created by the state, if the state charters them then the state gets to define exactly what powers those artificial “persons” get to have.
This law reaffirms that corporations, LLCs, partnerships, nonprofits only have the powers “necessary or convenient” for their legitimate business purposes. Influencing elections, funding ballot measures, bankrolling candidates and PACs are definitely NOT “necessary or convenient business purposes.”
A few key highlights:
•It applies to Hawaii-chartered entities AND to out-of-state companies that do business in the islands.
•Violations can lead to suspension of operations, loss of contracts, tax status revocation, or even dissolution.
•Individuals keep all of their First Amendment rights intact so no one is silenced.
The vote was unanimous in the Senate and near-unanimous in the House because legislators from both sides of the aisle recognized the problem of unchecked corporate influence. Please let me know where you stand on protecting Washington elections either by email at mfmatusky@XXX.com or by mail.
Thank you very much,
Mike Matusky
It wasn’t a triumph of liberty. It was a triumph of manipulation. It’s difficult not to hate these people! 🤬
So true they think because they are ridiculously wealthy they should own everything and everyone! Money in politics is always a danger and the Republican Party seems to be addicted to the power of wealthy Americans and others!
“Citizens United didn’t just allow billionaires to buy elections . . . .” This sentence is misleading, if not out and out false. Citizens United didn’t allow billionaires to buy elections. Buckley v. Valeo did that way back in 1976, when the Court held that money is speech. Citizens United extended Buckley’s premise by allowing corporations to buy elections in 2010. In other words, CU Is based on Buckley. If Citizens United were overturned, billionaires could still buy elections under Buckley. Billionaire spending on campaigns is now a much bigger problem than corporations buying elections. (Think Miriam Adelson and Musk donating millions of dollars to Trump’s presidential campaign in 2024). This is not to detract from the efforts of Hawaii and other states to rein in corporate donations, that is, effectively blocking the impact of CU through their licensing laws. But doing so, will not have any impact at all on billionaires making “independent” donations on behalf of political candidates. Political operatives have nonetheless used CU as a fundraising tool, with very little to show for it except paying themselves. All of this can be researched, including the previous sentence. The NYT had a good article on Buckley and its enabling of billionaires to buy elections in May 6.
Ummmm, did i miss the part where you actually say what the Hawaii law says/does?
Love the perceptive, clear and concise writing of this article, which describes the insidious nature and the moral rot of the wealthy benefiting from buying and breaking our democracy. So well written! 👏👏👏 And a gigantic thank you to Hawaii for finding the state legislative solution for terminating this uncontrolled power grab by corporations and their lobbyists. 💙
Let’s go every other state ! Yay Hawaii !
Here is a summary of the Hawaiian law. Beware, the article says that it is constitutionally suspect, which was one of my questions. Still I hope that Hawaii, Montana, or some other state finds a way to overcome this and other horrid decisions by our corrupt Supreme Court.
https://natlawreview.com/article/hawaii-governor-signs-first-its-kind-legislation-circumvent-citizens-united-legal
P.S. - I like the terminology used of an artificial person use in the link above when talking about Citizens United.
BTW, David Schuster was really on a roll in this article! I await my decoder ring, David.
Was this written by AI? This was an infuriating read, WHAT DOES THE LAW DO?
Can States also amend corporate charters mandating that they be based on maximizing shareholder/stakeholder value or at least making it equal to stockholder value? Then companies would have an obligation to look after their employees, customers and communities and not just hedge fund managers.
Look out Hawaii the idiot will start bombing Hawaii!