Fox News and its boss, Roger Ailes, along with Karl Rove and unlimited corporate campaign contributions, pose an enormous threat to President Barack Obama and Democratic candidates this fall.

Although they may not be working in tandem, they pursue common goals: Republicans winning control of Congress in 2010, defeating Obama two years later and restoring conservative business-first Republican policies.

In his position as Public Advocate for the City of New York, Bill de Blasio acts as an ombudsman between city residents and city government. Ensuring the accountability of elected officials to the public is his job, and to his credit he sees the influence of corporate money in politics as a real threat to the public good.

In an August 2 Los Angeles Times story, writer Tom Hamburger from the Times Washington Bureau reports that business and conservative groups are preparing to spend significant sums of money to defeat Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections.  Recent rulings by the Supreme Court allow unlimited spending by corporations and unions for some electioneering activities.

A few weeks ago I met Riki Ott at the Move to Amend/Campaign to Legalize Democracy national gathering in Denver. We were among two dozen people who came together to begin to develop plans to end corporate rule and abolish corporate personhood.

ON FEBRUARY 16, ABOUT 200 people gathered on the steps of the Wisconsin state capitol. “It’s fitting that we stand out in the cold,” said Mike McCabe, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

“That’s where the Supreme Court has left us.”

As you've probably heard, corporations are now "people" — humanoids that are equivalent to you and me. This miraculous metamorphosis happened on Jan. 21. Accompanied by a blinding bolt of lightning, and a terrifying jolt of thunder, five Dr. Frankensteins on the Supreme Court threw a judicial switch that endowed these pulseless paper entities with the human right to speak politically.

Think of the name of your favorite corporation. Then add a “Mr.,” “Mrs.” or “Ms.” before it.

As a result of a recent United States Supreme Court decision, corporations have been granted free speech – a key right of personhood – creating contention in the campus and political communities.

“This egregious decision turns back the clock on over 60 years of precedent,” said Jenn Hatch, a ConnPIRG associate, in a press release.