Right wing lawyers are destroying this country; liberal lawyers have a duty to step out of their comfort zone and try to save it

Citizens United has reshaped American campaign finance at every level of government since 2010. The decision tossed aside a century of tight regulation over corporate political spending and threw open the floodgates for the unlimited super PAC spending and undisclosed dark money that dominate the U.S. political system today.⁵

The case had an immediate and dramatic effect. The reported independent expenditures of outside groups exploded by more than 28-fold from 2008 to 2024 (from $144 million to $4.21 billion).⁶

Ever since the Supreme Court shattered campaign finance law with its decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission in 2010,¹ Americans have been told there are only two ways to stop corporate and “dark” money in politics: Amend the U.S. Constitution or wait for the court to undo what it has done.

That is flat wrong.

Citizens United held that government may not regulate a corporation’s right to spend money independently in elections. But the court did not say what a corporation is—it could not. That question lies beyond even the Supreme Court’s reach.

A group in Montana is pushing forward with a novel approach that could leverage the traditional power of the states to regulate corporations. It’s called the “Montana Plan,” and it’s starting to garner attention. If it works and survives legal challenges (a big if), and then spreads beyond Montana, it could turn the tide on corporate money in politics.

The idea is deceptively simple. According to its organizers, “The Montana Plan uses the State’s authority to define what powers corporations get and stops giving them the power to spend in our politics.” In 2026, organizers hope to place the “Transparent Election Initiative” before voters as a ballot measure to implement the Montana Plan.