--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Corporations haven’t limited their grasp…" description: "\"“Corporations haven’t limited their grasp to the First Amendment; pretty much any and virtually every amendment that could be used to further corporate..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/816/thom-hartmann-13946_corporations_corporations-haven-t-limited-their-grasp_1724220.png" --- # Corporations haven’t limited their grasp to the First… ![“Corporations haven’t limited their grasp to the First Amendment; pretty much any and virtually every amendment that could be used to further corporate interests has been fair game.” quote by Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/816/thom-hartmann-13946_corporations_corporations-haven-t-limited-their-grasp_1724220.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/816/thom-hartmann-13946_corporations_corporations-haven-t-limited-their-grasp_1724220.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/816/thom-hartmann-13946_corporations_corporations-haven-t-limited-their-grasp_1724220.png) > ““Corporations haven’t limited their grasp to the First Amendment; pretty much any and virtually every amendment that could be used to further corporate interests has been fair game.”” [Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Corporations exploit constitutional rights to advance profit motives. **In simple terms:** Businesses manipulate laws for gain. Key Takeaway Guard against corporate overreach. Themes law corporate power rights Mood critical concerned Type analytical activist When to use this quote - policy making - activism - consumer advocacy Key Concepts political economy civil liberties Questions to Reflect On - What amendments are most vulnerable? - How can citizens protect democratic processes? A Different Perspective Legal reforms may be slow and contested. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amendment Pretty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amendment-pretty-1367797/) [Amendment Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amendment-used-1367796/) [Corporations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporations/) [Fair game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fair-game/) [First amendment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-amendment/) [Virtually Amendment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtually-amendment-1367798/) ## Related quotes > [The First Amendment is now being used by the secularists of our day as a cattle prod to herd conservative religious people out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-swindall/the-first-amendment-is-now-being-used-by-the-secularists-of-our-day/) [Pat Swindall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-swindall/) > [In my view, a corporation is not a person. A corporation does not have First Amendment rights to spend as much money as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/in-my-view-a-corporation-is-not-a-person-a-corporation-does-not-have/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [For the first 200 years of our nation's history, corporations were never defined by the courts as persons with free speech rights under the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bonifaz/for-the-first-200-years-of-our-nation-s-history-corporations-were/) [John Bonifaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bonifaz/) > [“2003 case before the Supreme Court in which Nike claimed that it had the First Amendment right to lie in its corporate marketing, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/2003-case-before-the-supreme-court-in-which-nike-claimed-that-it-had/) [Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/) > [Citizens United is a disgrace of a decision, holding that corporate money is corporate speech and entitled to the same First Amendment protection as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/citizens-united-is-a-disgrace-of-a-decision-holding-that-corporate/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [“Her crime cost nobody their life, but she famously was escorted off to a women’s prison. 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Unless it’s to the police. 2. Don’t cheat your customers. Robin always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-thornton/the-ten-commandments-as-interpreted-by-robin-palmetier-1-don-t-lie/) [Marshall Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-thornton/) > [Taking out werewolves, I gather and surmise, is akin to taking out a SEAL team.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/taking-out-werewolves-i-gather-and-surmise-is-akin-to-taking-out-a/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [“Capitalism, far from affording "privileges" to the middle classes, tends to degrade them more abjectly than any other stratum in society. The system deploys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/capitalism-far-from-affording-privileges-to-the-middle-classes-tends/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [I think when you've been in office for a long time, you have a record, and that record is fair game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-bailey-hutchison/i-think-when-you-ve-been-in-office-for-a-long-time-you-have-a-record/) [Kay Bailey Hutchison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-bailey-hutchison/) > [There's a difference between fair game and playing games.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/there-s-a-difference-between-fair-game-and-playing-games/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [The more real I got on 'The Bourne Identity,' the more interesting it got. So 'Fair Game' was the chance to go a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-liman/the-more-real-i-got-on-the-bourne-identity-the-more-interesting-it/) [Doug Liman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-liman/) > [“Our jobs, our relationships, our lives can all be taken for granted until they bore us-although if they are threatened, appreciation returns quickly enough.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-norman-bold/our-jobs-our-relationships-our-lives-can-all-be-taken-for-granted/) [Alan Norman Bold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-norman-bold/) ## More by Thom Hartmann > [In the 24 hours since this time yesterday, over 200,000 acres of rainforest have been destroyed in our world. Fully 13 million tons of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/in-the-24-hours-since-this-time-yesterday-over-200-000-acres-of/) [Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/) > [“Traditional English, Dutch, French, and Spanish law didn’t say that corporations are people. The U.S. Constitution wasn’t written with that idea; corporations aren’t mentioned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/traditional-english-dutch-french-and-spanish-law-didn-t-say-that/) [Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/) > [Blessings are the spiritual equivalent of breathing in, and prayer is the spiritual equivalent of breathing out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/blessings-are-the-spiritual-equivalent-of-breathing-in-and-prayer-is/) [Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/) > [“2003 case before the Supreme Court in which Nike claimed that it had the First Amendment right to lie in its corporate marketing, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/2003-case-before-the-supreme-court-in-which-nike-claimed-that-it-had/) [Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/) > [“The Constitution doesn’t give us rights: it restrains government from infringing on rights we acquire at birth by virtue of being human beings, “natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/the-constitution-doesn-t-give-us-rights-it-restrains-government-from/) [Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/) > [Many people I've met believe that plants are made up of soil-that the tree outside your house, for example, is mostly made from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/many-people-i-ve-met-believe-that-plants-are-made-up-of-soil-that-the/) [Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/) > [“Her crime cost nobody their life, but she famously was escorted off to a women’s prison. Had she been a corporation instead of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/her-crime-cost-nobody-their-life-but-she-famously-was-escorted-off-to/) [Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/) > [Black Friday, in reality, is a symptom of the plight that 30 years of Reaganomics has brought to working people in America. Right along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/black-friday-in-reality-is-a-symptom-of-the-plight-that-30-years-of/) [Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/) > [“So we now know the formula for extinction. Something happens to increase global temperatures five to six degrees, which triggers a melting of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/so-we-now-know-the-formula-for-extinction-something-happens-to/) [Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/) > [When the Europeans first arrived in North America, the average depth of the topsoil was 53.34 cm (1¾ ft) and it was rich in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/when-the-europeans-first-arrived-in-north-america-the-average-depth/) [Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/) > [“And so we see people who are spiritually disconnected, living in boxes and driving in boxes, perhaps once a year going "out to nature"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/and-so-we-see-people-who-are-spiritually-disconnected-living-in-boxes/) [Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/) > [“in previous decades a chemical company took to the Supreme Court a case asserting its Fourth Amendment “right to privacy” from the Environmental Protection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/in-previous-decades-a-chemical-company-took-to-the-supreme-court-a/) [Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/) > [“the Occupy Movement flared up and began setting up tents in public parks all around the nation, from New York City to Chicago to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/the-occupy-movement-flared-up-and-began-setting-up-tents-in-public/) [Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/) > [ Because nitrous oxide \[released by nitrate-fertilised soil\] is 296 times stronger than COâ‚‚ at global warming and methane \[cow farts\] is about 26 times… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/because-nitrous-oxide-released-by-nitrate-fertilised-soil-is-296/) [Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/) > [“Both Jefferson and Adams were wary of priests in all forms, as they both knew theocracies are enemies of democracy. Jefferson pointed out that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/both-jefferson-and-adams-were-wary-of-priests-in-all-forms-as-they/) [Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/) [Explore all 48 Thom Hartmann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/) ## More Corporations quotes > [It makes no sense to talk of the social obligations of the corporation without reference to its economic obligations. The two are intertwined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-r-raymond/it-makes-no-sense-to-talk-of-the-social-obligations-of-the/) [Lee R. Raymond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-r-raymond/) > [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Everything affects hip-hop. The question is, how does it affect the money that corporations are going to invest to put out different kinds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-i-am/everything-affects-hip-hop-the-question-is-how-does-it-affect-the/) [will.i.am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-i-am/) > [Corporations have nothing to do with values, and they know it, and sometimes say it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kierans/corporations-have-nothing-to-do-with-values-and-they-know-it-and/) [Eric Kierans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-kierans/) > [Corporations invest in sophisticated CRM, or Customer Relationship Management, programs to effectively oversee their relationship with their customers at every point during the buying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-ostrofsky/corporations-invest-in-sophisticated-crm-or-customer-relationship/) [Marc Ostrofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-ostrofsky/) > [“Whatever happened in those more than one hundred years, from the time my great-great-great grandfather studied law to the time when my own father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwenn-wright/whatever-happened-in-those-more-than-one-hundred-years-from-the-time/) [Gwenn Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwenn-wright/) > [I am somewhat influenced by the years that I've spent trying to actually get things done, whether it was reforming education in Arkansas or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-am-somewhat-influenced-by-the-years-that-i-ve-spent-trying-to/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [There are questions as to whether it should even exist. Who should corporations be responsive to, the management of a corporation? Theoretically they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-questions-as-to-whether-it-should-even-exist-who-should/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“Subsequently there ensues an epoch of complex, proliferating intrigues and conspiracies among the ranks of double agents, whose agendas become so densely intertwined that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/subsequently-there-ensues-an-epoch-of-complex-proliferating-intrigues/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [I'm not only a fan of Apple products, I have stock in the company. I think Steve Jobs has started one of the greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kid-rock/i-m-not-only-a-fan-of-apple-products-i-have-stock-in-the-company-i/) [Kid Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kid-rock/) > [At Epcot Center the Disney corporation has focused its attention on two things greatly in need of Disneyfication: the tedious future and the annoying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/at-epcot-center-the-disney-corporation-has-focused-its-attention-on/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [There can be no effective control of corporations while their political activity remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/there-can-be-no-effective-control-of-corporations-while-their/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Since FDR's New Deal, corporations and wealthy families have been non-stop finding new ways to get tax breaks, deregulation and entitlements from the government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-mckay/since-fdr-s-new-deal-corporations-and-wealthy-families-have-been-non/) [Adam McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-mckay/) > [There's a whole journalistic-industrial complex dedicated to keeping newsprint, TV screens and radio waves clean of destabilizing scoops damaging to corporations or the state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-cockburn/there-s-a-whole-journalistic-industrial-complex-dedicated-to-keeping/) [Alexander Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-cockburn/) > [They're counting on your patriotism to distract you from their plunder. They're counting on you to be standing at attention with your hand over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-moyers/they-re-counting-on-your-patriotism-to-distract-you-from-their/) [Bill Moyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-moyers/) [Browse all 1,673 Corporations quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporations/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Corporations haven’t limited their grasp to the First Amendment; pretty much any and virtually every amendment that could be used to further corporate interests has been fair game.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thom Hartmann" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/corporations-haven-t-limited-their-grasp-to-the-first-amendment/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Corporations" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/corporations-haven-t-limited-their-grasp-to-the-first-amendment/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/816/thom-hartmann-13946_corporations_corporations-haven-t-limited-their-grasp_1724220.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/816/thom-hartmann-13946_corporations_corporations-haven-t-limited-their-grasp_1724220.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/816/thom-hartmann-13946_corporations_corporations-haven-t-limited-their-grasp_1724220.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Corporations haven’t limited their grasp to the First Amendment; pretty much any and virtually every…” — Thom Hartmann", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Thom Hartmann", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Corporations haven’t limited their grasp to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/corporations-haven-t-limited-their-grasp-to-the-first-amendment/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/corporations-haven-t-limited-their-grasp-to-the-first-amendment/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```