Citizens United
Encyclopedia
Citizens United is a conservative non-profit organization
in the United States
. Its president and chairman is David Bossie
.
.
Citizens United was founded in 1988. David Bossie has been its president since 2000. Its offices are on Pennsylvania Avenue in the Capitol Hill area
of Washington, D.C.
The associated Citizens United Foundation is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization.
that reveals several "surprisingly liberal" legislative actions taken by John McCain
, which aired on Fox News Channel
. On October 2, 2006, in reaction to revelations of a GOP cover-up of inappropriate communications between Congressman Mark Foley
and teenage pages, Citizens United president David Bossie called on Dennis Hastert
to resign over his role in covering up the scandal.
, defeat of the treaty establishing a permanent International Criminal Court
, and "rejection of one-world government".
. The following is a list of films produced by Citizens United Productions.
Rediscovering God in America, Rediscovering God in America II, Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny, We Have the Power, and Nine Days That Changed The World were hosted by Newt Gingrich
and his third wife Callista Gingrich
.
and McConnell v. FEC. The case was re-argued on September 9. On January 21, 2010, the Supreme Court overturned the provision of McCain-Feingold barring corporations and unions from paying for political ads made independently of candidate campaigns
.
A dissenting opinion by Justice Stevens was joined by Justice Ginsburg, Justice Breyer, and Justice Sotomayor. It concurred in the Court's decision to sustain BCRA's disclosure provisions, but dissented from the principal holding of the majority opinion. The 90-page dissent argued that the Court's ruling "threatens to undermine the integrity of elected institutions across the Nation. The path it has taken to reach its outcome will...do damage to this institution." The dissent also argued that the Court's holding that BCRA §203 was facially unconstitutional was ruling on a question not brought before it by the litigants, and so claimed that the majority "changed the case to give themselves an opportunity to change the law." Stevens concluded his dissent with:
In September 2010, Americans United for Life Action - a 501(c)4 affiliated with Americans United for Life
- ran radio ads advocating that incumbent Members of Congress John Boccieri
, Chris Carney
, and Baron Hill
be defeated. News reports at the time indicated that the ads were "among the first ads to capitalize" on the decision.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Its president and chairman is David Bossie
David Bossie
David N. Bossie is an American political activist. Since 2000 he has been President and Chairman of conservative advocacy organization Citizens United.-Early life:...
.
Overview
Citizens United describes its mission as being dedicated to restoring the United States government to "citizens' control" and to "assert American values of limited government, freedom of enterprise, strong families, and national sovereignty and security." To fulfill this mission, Citizens United undertakes various educational projects, including television advertising and feature-length documentariesDocumentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
.
Citizens United was founded in 1988. David Bossie has been its president since 2000. Its offices are on Pennsylvania Avenue in the Capitol Hill area
Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.
Capitol Hill, aside from being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues...
of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
The associated Citizens United Foundation is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization.
Advocacy
Citizens United is known for supporting conservative causes. The group produced a television advertisementTelevision advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
that reveals several "surprisingly liberal" legislative actions taken by John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
, which aired on Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
. On October 2, 2006, in reaction to revelations of a GOP cover-up of inappropriate communications between Congressman Mark Foley
Mark Foley
Mark Adam Foley is a former member of the United States House of Representatives. He served from 1995 until 2006, representing the 16th District of Florida as a member of the Republican Party....
and teenage pages, Citizens United president David Bossie called on Dennis Hastert
Dennis Hastert
John Dennis "Denny" Hastert was the 59th Speaker of the House serving from 1999 to 2007. He represented as a Republican for twenty years, 1987 to 2007.He is the longest-serving Republican Speaker in history...
to resign over his role in covering up the scandal.
American Sovereignty Project
The American Sovereignty Project is the lobbying arm of Citizens United, focused on issues related to American sovereignty and national security. Its goals include a complete withdrawal from the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, defeat of the treaty establishing a permanent International Criminal Court
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...
, and "rejection of one-world government".
Leadership
Citizens United's current leadership includes David N. Bossie, President and Chairman; Michael Boos, Vice President and General Counsel; Douglas L. Ramsey, Secretary-Treasurer; and Directors Ron Robinson, John Bliss, Kirby Wilbur.Citizens United Productions
Citizens United Productions, headed by president David Bossie, has released 20 feature-length documentariesDocumentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
. The following is a list of films produced by Citizens United Productions.
- ACLU: At War with America
- America at Risk
- Battle for America
- Blocking 'The Path to 9/11
- Border War: The Battle Over Illegal ImmigrationBorder War: The Battle Over Illegal ImmigrationBorder War: The Battle Over Illegal Immigration is a 2006 documentary film, written, produced and directed by Kevin Knoblock. The film tells the stories of five people whose lives have been affected by illegal immigration along the U.S.-Mexico border. They are J.D...
- Broken Promises: The UN at 60
- Celsius 41.11
- Fire From The Heartland: The Awakening of the Conservative Woman
- Generation ZeroGeneration ZeroGeneration Zero: The Truth About the Financial Meltdown is a documentary film written and directed by Stephen K. Bannon and produced by David Bossie for Citizens United.-Subject matter:...
- Hillary: The MovieHillary: The MovieHillary: The Movie is a 2008 politicized documentary about United States Senator and Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. It was produced by Citizens United. The film was scheduled to be offered as video-on-demand on cable TV right before the Democratic primaries in January 2008, but the federal...
- HYPE: The Obama Effect
- Nine Days that Changed the WorldNine Days that Changed the WorldNine Days that Changed the World is a 2010 documentary film produced by Newt Gingrich and his wife Callista that centers on the role played by Pope John Paul II in the fall of Communism in Europe and the rise of Solidarity....
- Perfect Valor
- Rediscovering God in AmericaRediscovering God in AmericaRediscovering God in America is a book written by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich with photography from his wife Callista Gingrich. In the book, the Gingriches lead the reader on a tour of Washington, D.C. to point out the religious beliefs incorporated in the Nation's monuments...
- Rediscovering God in America II: Our Heritage
- Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny
- We Have the Power: Making America Energy Independent
Rediscovering God in America, Rediscovering God in America II, Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny, We Have the Power, and Nine Days That Changed The World were hosted by Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich is a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as the House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995 and as the 58th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999....
and his third wife Callista Gingrich
Callista Gingrich
Callista Louise Gingrich, née Bisek is the wife of former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Newt Gingrich, and the President of Gingrich Productions, a multimedia production company based in Washington, DC....
.
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
Citizens United was the plaintiff in a Supreme Court case which began as a challenge to various statutory provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), known as the "McCain-Feingold" law. The case revolved around the documentary Hillary: The Movie which was produced by Citizens United. Under the McCain-Feingold law, a federal court in Washington D.C. ruled that Citizens United would be barred from advertising its film. The case ([ 08-205], 558 U.S. 50 (2010)) was heard in the United States Supreme Court on March 24, 2009. During oral argument, the government argued that under existing precedents, it had the power under the constitution to prohibit the publication of books and movies if they were made or sold by corporations. After that hearing, the Court requested re-argument specifically to address whether deciding the case required the Court to reconsider those earlier decisions in Austin v. Michigan Chamber of CommerceAustin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce
Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce, 494 U.S. 652 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Michigan Campaign Finance Act, which prohibited corporations from using treasury money to support or oppose candidates in elections, did not violate the First and...
and McConnell v. FEC. The case was re-argued on September 9. On January 21, 2010, the Supreme Court overturned the provision of McCain-Feingold barring corporations and unions from paying for political ads made independently of candidate campaigns
Political campaign
A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referendums are decided...
.
A dissenting opinion by Justice Stevens was joined by Justice Ginsburg, Justice Breyer, and Justice Sotomayor. It concurred in the Court's decision to sustain BCRA's disclosure provisions, but dissented from the principal holding of the majority opinion. The 90-page dissent argued that the Court's ruling "threatens to undermine the integrity of elected institutions across the Nation. The path it has taken to reach its outcome will...do damage to this institution." The dissent also argued that the Court's holding that BCRA §203 was facially unconstitutional was ruling on a question not brought before it by the litigants, and so claimed that the majority "changed the case to give themselves an opportunity to change the law." Stevens concluded his dissent with:
At bottom, the Court's opinion is thus a rejection of the common sense of the American people, who have recognized a need to prevent corporations from undermining self government since the founding, and who have fought against the distinctive corrupting potential of corporate electioneering since the days of Theodore Roosevelt. It is a strange time to repudiate that common sense. While American democracy is imperfect, few outside the majority of this Court would have thought its flaws included a dearth of corporate money in politics.
In September 2010, Americans United for Life Action - a 501(c)4 affiliated with Americans United for Life
Americans United for Life
Americans United for Life is an American pro-life public interest law firm and advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1971, the group advocates protection of human life at all stages of life, from conception to death, and is involved in related issues of health and biotechnology...
- ran radio ads advocating that incumbent Members of Congress John Boccieri
John Boccieri
John Boccieri is a one-term U.S. Representative for , serving from 2009 until 2011. He was defeated by Republican Jim Renacci on November 2, 2010. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served in the Ohio Senate and the Ohio House of Representatives.-Early life and career:Boccieri...
, Chris Carney
Chris Carney
Christopher P. "Chris" Carney is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2007 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party and was a prominent member of the conservative Blue Dog Coalition....
, and Baron Hill
Baron Hill
Baron Paul Hill is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1999 to 2005 and from 2007 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
be defeated. News reports at the time indicated that the ads were "among the first ads to capitalize" on the decision.
External links
- Citizens United official website
- Citizens United v FEC DC District Court Opinion