The Revolution is growing bigger by the day! Even here in Little Beirut (Papa Bush Called Portland on a Protested visit).
A couple of hundred demonstrators gathered in Portland on Friday to call for a constitutional amendment that would establish that corporations aren’t people and that money — via campaign contributions — doesn’t constitute speech.
The Occupy the Courts rally, one of more than 100 such demonstrations across the U.S., drew a group here dressed as U.S. Supreme Court justices, their suits festooned with the logos of big corporations such as Ford, Exxon and McDonald's. Among them was Phil Wikelund, a 66-year-old retired bookseller from Southwest Portland, dressed as Justice Samuel Alito.
"This," he quipped, very much in regal character, "is justice for the 1 percent."
The demonstration at Pioneer Courthouse Square came on the eve of the second anniversary of a landmark Supreme Court decision: Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission. The high court held that the First Amendment prevents the government from limiting independent spending by corporations and unions for political purposes.
Critics say the decision reinforced previous Supreme Court rulings that gave corporations "personhood," a power that they claim is proof that the high court is an oligarchy that stands with the rich and against flesh-and-blood Americans.
Barbara Dudley, a 65-year-old Portlander with the Oregon Working Families Party, rallied the rain-soaked crowd by explaining that the Supreme Court was created to interpret the Constitution but was always a political entity.
"Its judges are appointed by leaders of one political party or another," she said, "and the Supreme Court -- like Congress and the presidency -- has always reflected the political ascendancy of either the 99 percent or the 1 percent."
The rally, organized by Occupy Portland activists and the Move to Amend coalition, circled historic Pioneer Courthouse and ended on its front steps, where authorities shut a gate that prevented them from entering.
Government police detained two demonstrators after an altercation on the steps, but no arrests were reported. Portland's rally, like those across the nation, were "well behaved and peaceful," said Rob Winchester, a spokesman for the Federal Protective Service.
View full sizeBryan Denson/ The Oregonian
A group called Raging Grannies gathered at Friday's rally at Pioneer Courthouse Square.
The gathering, abundant with senior citizens, offered a bit of whimsy missing from some of the recent protests against the U.S. government.
Portlander Marilyn Pike came to the rally carrying a cartoonish pig's head and a top hat reading, "1%." And standup comic Arlo Stone, a 43-year-old father of three, wore a dome tent that read "rain-gear" and -- bullhorn in hand -- exhorted the crowd to "Occupyyyyyy!"
But organizers of the protest brought a serious message to the crowd, skewering corporations for the power they hold over jobs, environmental protections and even judges.
"The corrupting influence of money in politics is the source of all of the social injustices that Occupy movement is working to defend and to fix," shouted Occupy Portland organizer Erin Madden, 39. "This ... is the source of the ongoing economic recession that has caused millions of people to lose their homes and to lose their jobs."
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