Piers Morgan Confronts Justice Scalia on Citizens United

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia made a rare media appearance yesterday when he sat down for an interview on Piers Morgan Tonight on CNN.

During the interview, Scalia dismissed recent reports that he and Chief Justice John Roberts are feuding over the contentious health care ruling. Scalia also commented on Bush v. Gore, saying he doesn’t regret the decision and told those still upset over the issue to ‘get over it’.

And what rare interview of conservative favorite Antonin Scalia would be complete without an insinuatingly insulting discussion of the Court’s reaffirmation of Citizens United?

Piers Morgan expressed his incomprehension at Scalia’s ‘interpretation of the Constitution’. He believes the decision, which doesn’t put limits on the First Amendment, allows super PAC’s led by millionaires to buy elections. (He conveniently forgets this allows unions to spend enormous amounts of money as well.) He also stated that he doesn’t believe money is speech.

“That cannot be what the Founding Fathers intended. Thomas Jefferson didn’t sit there constructing something that was going to be abused,” Morgan stated. Of course, Thomas Jefferson did not construct the Constitution. (he was serving as the U.S. ambassador to France during the time of the framing)

Scalia, of course, did not back down. “I think Thomas Jefferson would have said the more speech the better. That’s what the First Amendment is all about,”

As for money not being speech, Scalia dismissed the idea, making the point that newspapers frequently endorse candidates, and no one regulates what they spend. “Could you tell newspaper publishers you can only spend so much money in the publication of their newspaper? Would they not say this is abridging my speech?”