AUGUSTA — A coalition fed up with corporate money in politics is taking the first step on a long path that it hopes will lead to overturning a U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing more money to flood into campaigns.

We The People Maine announced Wednesday that it intends to start the process of collecting about 60,000 signatures necessary to get the Maine Legislature to call for a constitutional convention.

The group is seeking a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling in 2010 that reversed a centurylong trend to limit the political muscle of corporations and organized labor. The court said the First Amendment that protects free speech rights also gives corporations the right to make independent political expenditures to influence campaigns.

Maine coordinator Naomi Cohen acknowledged the long odds, but said, “I think we can do it because people are outraged. They know the difference between a corporation and a human being. How come the Supreme Court doesn’t?”


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