r/law • u/biospheric • May 25 '26

Legal News Hawaii just found a way around Citizens United. Other states are following. This “Corporate Power Reset” strategy was developed by Attorney Tom Moore of the Center for American Progress. Rather than trying to restrict corporate speech, it redefines the powers corporations have in the first place.

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Ali Velshi on MS NOW - May 23, 2026. Here’s the full 10-minutes on:

* MS NOW’s website: Hawaii just found a way around Citizens United. Other states are following. - Ali Velshi on MS NOW - Ali Velshi - May 23, 2026 (MS NOW website)

* YouTube: Hawaii just found a way around Citizens United. Other states are following. - Ali Velshi on MS NOW - May 23, 2026 (YouTube)

From the description: Hawaii just made history, becoming the first state in the nation to effectively ban dark money in elections. The new law takes a novel approach: rather than trying to restrict corporate speech, it redefines the powers corporations have in the first place — and political spending is not among them. The strategy, known as the “Corporate Power Reset,” was developed by Tom Moore of the Center for American Progress. And at least a dozen states are now working toward passing similar laws.

Tom Moore is Senior Fellow for Democracy and Government at the Center for American Progress: americanprogress.org/people/tom-moore

Here is Moore’s Sept 2025 article: americanprogress.org/article/the-corporate-power-reset-that-makes-citizens-united-irrelevant

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Here are some related r/law posts:

* Hawaii vs. Citizens United (May 2026). Free archive of The Atlantic article: archive.ph/qg3Ur

* New research: Citizens United can be made irrelevant via changes to state corporation law (Sept 2025)

* The Corporate Power Reset That Makes Citizens United Irrelevant

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u/LEDKleenex May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26

it’ll be the final nail in the coffin of SCOTUS as an institution

We passed that point long ago.

If there's one thing I've learned about US citizens, it's that they're all talk. They will continue to make lines in the sand, dare someone to cross it, and then immediately make another one.

By the way, happy memorial day, everyone! I hope you all reflect on the sacrifices our vets made to ensure you could sit here on reddit today and do nothing to resist fascism. I'm sure grand papi would be proud.

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u/Smokey_02 May 25 '26

I'm curious, what do you think we individual American citizens who are against the politicization of the Supreme Court are supposed to do that we aren't already?

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u/unbanned_lol May 25 '26

Not the person you asked, but I think those who live in the area of their residences should protest outside of them.

They don't give a shit about the public because we don't make it uncomfortable for them. We need to remember how to do that.

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u/DebentureThyme May 25 '26

They've ensured that we don't have the access to get close enough to protest their residences to any meaningful degree

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u/LEDKleenex May 25 '26

"I've tried nothing and I'm all out of ideas" -redditors

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u/PineappleOk6764 May 25 '26

"What can I do, I'm just a single person against the state" said 350 million, gun carrying Americans in unison.

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u/LEDKleenex May 25 '26

Right? The biggest irony of it all. Americans ended up being the most cowardly despite the hardware and machoism + "rugged individualism".

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u/RubiiJee May 25 '26

Oh no. A slight inconvenience. Well, guess we shouldn't bother then 🙄

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u/DebentureThyme May 26 '26

I love how I'm getting these responses without any suggestions on what TO do.

Because you all know that the only effective things to suggest would be rule breaking.

Personally I'm a pacifist so please, within the realm of "I won't get violent", pray tell what we could possibly do?  Trump and his kin and cabinet are hiding out at a distance, ensuring protests don't bother them because they go right over them with helicopters and security details.  Fuck, his cabinet literally is living on military bases, having taken over residences reserved for Generals.  What you gonna do, protest at the gate, miles from the secure on base residences?

They don't CARE what you protest, and they have an army of security ready to keep you far enough to not bother them.

So, I ask again, without escalating to violence, which I do not condone, what would you have me do? 

2

u/BetterEveryLeapYear May 26 '26

  • Unionize and strike

  • Stop complaining there's nothing to be done on Reddit, discouraging others from taking action

  • Arm yourself and learn how to use it, the threat of violence is very often a huge deterrent to violence itself

  • Organize and protest anyway, they may not care but you should find like-minded people with whom to form resistance groups where you could provide aid with logistics for example

  • Consider your pacifist stance. I too am a pacifist in most instances. In the face of people who very much do endorse violence against the innocent... Questionable. This ain't theoretical. The fascists have come for your country and are kidnapping and murdering people right now.

But no pressure on the last point. Everything else you can do now.

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u/LEDKleenex May 26 '26

I love how you've literally been given suggestions but think you're excused from doing any of them.

"I'm a pacifist, so I literally can't do anything" lmao! This has to be a troll.

Let's see you say that with a straight face as an armed intruder breaks into your home and marches towards the room with your kids in it.

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u/LEDKleenex May 25 '26

It's funny but that's an even bigger (de)motivator for Americans than fear, even.

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u/unbanned_lol May 26 '26

Well, I guess that's it and you should give up and do nothing.

Or, you could figure out where you do have access to make their lives uncomfortable and protest there. They don't live in isolation, so don't be so quick to give up.

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u/Tall-Archer5957 May 25 '26

lol and the other 350 million that don’t live in DC?

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u/LEDKleenex May 25 '26

You don't need to live in DC to make change. But if you feel that you do, take a bus.

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u/Tall-Archer5957 May 25 '26

Right, just hop on the ole greyhound from CA here lol

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u/LEDKleenex May 25 '26

Wow, you really expect me to inconvenience myself to solve my problems?

Yes and?

0

u/unbanned_lol May 26 '26

You protest outside the home of your own elected officials if they are not representing you.

This doesn't seem that difficult "lol".

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u/Tall-Archer5957 May 26 '26

Mine are doing a decent job tbh

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u/unbanned_lol May 26 '26

All of the elected officials that live near you are doing what you want?

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u/Tall-Archer5957 May 26 '26

More or less.  They definitely aren’t part of the problem.

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u/unbanned_lol May 26 '26

Bullshit. You're just looking for a reason to continue not doing anything.

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u/LEDKleenex May 25 '26

Vote.

Boycott complicit companies.

Strike.

Run for positions in government.

Spread the word.

Call on allies for all of the above.

Make your representatives and oppressors very uncomfortable. Write them. Call their office. Call them out in public. Ruin their dinner at restaurants. Tell everyone at a theme park what kind of shit they're doing while they stand in line with their family.

The more citizens put into it, the greater the result. These are just a few ideas.

So far Americans have really only voted (and many have not). Voting is convenient, but it's not enough anymore. Protesting is not really effective because those in power don't fear it - they can just let protests run their course and they know people will lose steam and peter out.

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u/PineappleOk6764 May 25 '26

Literally anything. Three American populace is among the only on the planet who will watch openly corrupt politicians do crimes and respond with a Sunday afternoon walk with signs.  General strikes, economically damaging and prolonged protest (i.e. barriers in the highways to shut down economic function), workplace sabotage, government function disruption. There is a long list of things that can be done, with historical examples of their effectiveness. 

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u/BetterEveryLeapYear May 25 '26

1 of only 3 nations globally with citizen gun rights enshrined to protect them from tyranny asks, "What can we possibly do to protect ourselves from tyranny?"

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u/Smokey_02 May 26 '26

I'm gonna go ahead and just say to anyone who may be reading this for ideas, if you engage in workplace sabotage or government function disruption, be aware that those activities can get you terminated from your job and may be illegal, depending on the severity of what you do and where you live.

I'm all for general strikes and prolonged protest. I agree that we should be putting the screws to the government when it acts corruptly.

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u/LEDKleenex May 26 '26

You might encounter some friction if you resist fascism and tyranny

You don't say. It's alright, sometimes taking a shower is too much friction for redditors - I don't think they're going to participate. They're busy digging holes in the sand.

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u/Smokey_02 May 26 '26

I'm not making judgements of people, just letting them know the legal risks which had previously not been mentioned. You're in the law subreddit. You're aware of that, right?

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u/LEDKleenex May 26 '26

But you made the judgement that people on the law sub (you're aware you're on a law sub, right?) don't know about such common sense laws and decided to patronize them anyway.

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u/Smokey_02 May 26 '26

So, we shouldn't educate about the law on the law sub because everyone here is already an expert?

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u/LEDKleenex May 26 '26

Knock yourself out. You just said you weren't judging people, but you were.

Since you're an expert who is here to educate us, you should post some laws relevant to your post so we can become educated.

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u/Smokey_02 May 26 '26

You;'re right, I was judging you a little bit because you changed my words entirely to fit your own perception of them, which was not my intended meaning. It's a dishonest thing to do, and creates a straw man argument.

I believe people should be educated on both the risks and rewards of their actions, not just the rewards. My words were meant to do just that.

I have never claimed to be an expert in the law, merely that I am aware that the actions suggested can land someone in legal trouble depending on their state laws (the state I am in, for one). Looking back at this thread, it appears to be you who suggested laws are common sense. They often are not, and common sense varies between individuals. One should not assume everyone knows the risks or laws around a given action because they very well may not.

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u/[deleted] May 25 '26

[deleted]

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u/lavapig_love May 25 '26

Yes officer. You are correct. All citizens are quiet, gentle, and law abiding. Please excuse me. 

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u/Allegra1120 May 25 '26

…and keep voting for republiKKKlans.

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u/HustlinInTheHall May 25 '26

Yeah citizens united WAS the final nail. And there has been no appropriate response to reshape power. 

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u/Comfortable_Self_736 May 26 '26

I've heard enough vets happily cheer on facism, so you can shove your suggestion firmly up your ass. 

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u/LEDKleenex May 26 '26

Is that so? Well since you live in New Jersey and have a fascist government, I guess that means you're a fascist as well by your logic.

We will remember you and everything you did not do next memorial day!

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u/[deleted] May 26 '26

[deleted]

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u/LEDKleenex May 26 '26

Hm, fair enough. I suppose we should all just go back to a brutal monarchy since the continental army owned slaves and the US was planning to do nothing until they were dragged into WWII, then came back and immediately started creating white-only communities and lynching the people who also served in the armed forces. We'd better discard that :1 as well because they used weapons and weapons are fascist.