Unions, "the big guy," outspend corporations since landmark SCOTUS ruling

"So I owe those unions. When their leaders call, I do my best to call them back right away." Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope.

One such phone call the president probably received was a request to exempt Big Labor from an anti-free speech bill called the DISCLOSE Act, which places onerous restrictions on organizations such as corporations which want to participated in the political process. Unions and the National Rifle Association received exemptions. The bill passed the House of Representatives with a slim majority, just two Republicans voted for it. Fortunately for supporters of free dialogue, the bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate.

The DISCLOSE Act was written in response to a January US Supreme Court ruling that tossed out restraints on third-party expenditures on political campaigns--the Court declared them unconstitutional. So the Democrats' bill, which is probably unconstitutional, was created to replace an unconstitutional law.

Yeah, I don't get it either.

Among those who only casually follow politics, the belief is that unions are "the little guy" and corporation are "the big guy." But since those third-party restrictions were lifted six months ago, it's unions--not corporations--who are the big guy.

Here's the proof:

Labor unions have dominated spending on independent campaign ads so far this election season, despite a recent Supreme Court decision that freed spending by corporations, a Washington Post analysis shows.

The findings are an early indication that corporate money is not flooding into the election, as many predicted it would after the landmark Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision.

So far this year, $24.7 million in independent spending has been reported to the Federal Election Commission, campaign filings show.

Unions have spent $9.7 million, or 39 percent of the total, compared with $6.4 million, or 26 percent spent by individuals and $3.4 million spent by corporations.

But Obama and the Democrats want to make Big Labor, the big guy, even bigger.

Obama, our anti-business president, owes those unions.

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