Last week, a federal judge in Virgina struck down laws that prohibit corporations from donating directly to political campaigns. The judge reasoned that if, under Citizens United, corporations are people too, then they should be able to donate to political campaigns just like people can.

This ruling destroys over a century of settled law, going back to the Tillman Act of 1907. Granted, that law, which prohibited corporate contributions to federal elections, was completely ineffective -- corporate boards merely voted huge bonuses for top employees who then donated the bonuses. Still, it's yet another blow to attempts at campaign finance reform.