Stephen Colbert offered up $400,000.00 from his Super PAC to change the name of the South Carolina primary to, “The Colbert Super PAC South Carolina Republican Primary.” The money would help with the cost of the primary which is estimated to be $500,000.00. Colbert also insisted they include on the ballot a non-binding referendum having people decide; Are corporations people, or are people only people. The republicans agreed and signed a contract for the money but then the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that counties, not the GOP, would be responsible to cover the cost of the primaries. But, they also ruled that all non-binding referendum be struck from the ballot, so the deal was off. The Democrats have since agreed with Colbert to try to get the referendum back on the ballot for the same deal.
Mitt Romney was right when he proclaimed, “corporations are people to,” based on case law and the years of Supreme Court rulings on the issue. The Supreme Court first ruled on corporate personhood back in 1819 in the case Darthmouth College v. Woodward, which gave corporations the same rights as individuals in regard to contract law. In 1886 the Supreme Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause granted the same rights to corporations as individuals with Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad. The Supreme Court has repeatedly back up this ruling through the years case after case. So those pundits that claim Romney was wrong saying “Corporations are people to,” are actually the ones who are wrong. The law of the land backs up Mitt Romney. Those pundits and Stephen Colbert are simply playing with emotions, and stirring up class warfare. This is what you get when you go to Comedy Central for your news.