Last week was a bad week for Democrats in the United States, although I'm sure there will be brighter days ahead for the President because political tides have always ebbed and flowed as they will for every President.  However, the worst part of last week had nothing to do with an election or even healthcare, it was the anticipated ruling from the Supreme Court which found, in a 5-4 ruling, that major portions of the McCain/Feingold Act, as well as over 100 years of precedence were determined to be unconstitutional, paving the way for corporations to spend essentially unrestricted money on elections like a real human being.

The basic concept of a corporation has been around for a very long time, but the modern corporation, with it's mandate to chase profits and only profits, didn't begin it's ascent until the 20th century and the concepts of economist Milton Friedman.  There was a time when a corporation's mandate was the pursuit of the common good and profits, but those days are long over.

I don't think you'll find anyone willing to argue the benefits of allowing corporations to hold property, buy, sell, enter contracts, etc., which is something real people have in common with a corporation, as it helps build wealth and encourage growth.  However, what the Supreme Court has done is the definition of activism, as the Constitution doesn't get into corporations, and has struck down all laws which separate human beings from corporations.  This means that even foreign owned corporations can spend as much money as they want influencing elections through advertising.  There used to be a 90 day window where corporations could not air any ads before an election, but now that they are considered people, they can run ads whenever they want for whomever they want.

I'll spare you the doom and gloom scenarios, but it should be incredibly obvious that individuals cannot compete in the political process against the resources of large corporations, and let's not forget that the last time I checked, Wal-Mart isn't a real guy.

UPDATE: Watch President Obama's response to the Supreme Court decision: