To the editor:

We know what gets in the way. For a Congress elected every two years, campaigning never stops. Campaigns cost money, and money comes with strings attached. It is simple: If you want to know how the congressman will vote, check out the money.

The constitutional idea that corporations are people is absurd, particularly when the Supreme Court justices who say so also say we must look to its original intent. Were the drafters thinking about corporations when they wrote the Constitution? We had few, and they were very different. There were no international or even national corporations in 1790. The invention of corporations that crossed state lines did not blossom for another hundred years. But there is no profit in that debate; that decision won’t change any time soon.

Still, regardless of what the Supreme Court says, we’re still in control. It is our votes the money is supposed to buy. Let’s refuse to sell. When corporate and other outside money comes in, it drowns out the local voices. When CitiCorp’s money is screaming, the representative is not listening to you.

So don’t vote for candidates who take money from outside their district. Don’t vote for candidates who take money from people who can’t vote for them. Why should outside money affect votes for our candidates? Corporations, even if they are “people,” still cannot vote. This is simple: Vote for the candidate who takes the least amount in contributions from “people” who cannot vote for them.