A U.S. Supreme 
Anticipating such a decision, state Rep. Glen Casada, a College Grove Republican, has filed a bill that would put state
"This decision allows corporations to use their general treasury funds to take out ads for, or against, candidates," Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Brant Phillips said.
Phillips explained that the ruling strikes down a decades-old prohibition against such efforts by entities such as corporations and unions.
The court did not address the issue of direct campaign contributions by corporations and it said all expenditures had to be made independently of the campaign.
"Of course we're not really surprised, but we are disappointed and concerned that it opens the floodgates for corporations, and unions and other organizations to put a lot of money into the campaigns," said state chairman Dick Williams of Common Cause, whose national organization was a party in Thursday's Supreme Court case.
Williams said the ruling could immediately affect this year's race for governor. GOP candidate Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam's family owns privately held Pilot Corp.
"That's certainly an example," Williams said. Pilot "and any other corporation could certainly spend whatever they wanted for or against a candidate. And that concerns us, not just that particular instance, but the whole idea of so much money being spent by a limited number of groups. We feel it steals the process away from the average individual and constituent."
Another
"I think it's a good decision," Ramsey said. "In my governor's race, when I'm running against someone from Washington, D.C., or someone with unlimited personal wealth, it's nice to have an equalizer."
Stephen Zralek, a campaign finance attorney at Nashville firm Bone, McAllester, Norton, questioned whether a campaign ad supporting Haslam and paid for by Pilot would be deemed truly independent.
"I think that legitimate questions would arise as to the true independent nature of any expenditures by Pilot," Zralek said.
Asked for a response Thursday afternoon, a spokesman for Haslam's campaign said he was unavailable for comment.
Nasty ads predicted
Beyond the governor's race, Vanderbilt University political science professor John Geer predicted the Supreme Court ruling would lead to more nasty ads in the future.
"The court's ruling is no surprise given campaign spending has historically been viewed as a form of free speech," Geer said. "The influx of money resulting from this decision means more broadcast advertising, and most of it will be negative."
As was first reported by the Knoxville News Sentinel, Casada, the chairman of the House Republican Caucus, filed his bill on Jan. 12. In its current form, Casada's bill would go a step further than the Supreme Court decision and eliminate restrictions on corporate campaign donations, though he may change it in the wake of the ruling.
