Sanders enlists Ben & Jerry’s in fight against super-PACs

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is enlisting the help of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to make the case against the Citizens United campaign finance ruling.

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the founders of the ice cream company, rail against the 2010 Supreme Court case that allowed corporations to donate unlimited sums to super-PACs in a new email blast to Sanders supporters.

The ad is in the style of a mock text message conversation and titled “Ben & Jerry: people, Ben & Jerry’s: corporation.” It’s meant to chide supporters of Citizens United over the idea that corporations should have the same free speech rights as people.

{mosads}“That’s ridiculous. And what it means is that this presidential election, there will be a whole mess of shadowy money and corporate contributions backing candidates and causes on both sides of the aisle,” Greenfield says.

“Except for Bernie Sanders, of course. Bernie has led the fight to put an end to the corrupting influence of big money in our politics,” Cohen adds.

The ice cream men ask supporters to sign a petition supporting Sanders’s call for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.

Sanders has regularly worked with the founders of Ben & Jerry’s, which is located in his home state. The pair attended Sanders’ official launch of his Democratic presidential campaign, where they gave out free ice cream.

The senator is an ardent supporter of campaign finance reform and has refused to bless any super-PAC to help his long-shot presidential bid. His emails specifically include a tag at the bottom that says “Paid for by Bernie 2016 (not the billionaires).”

His chief opponent in the Democratic primary, Hillary Clinton, has struck a similar tone on campaign finance reform. She’s echoed his call to nominate Supreme Court justices that would overturn Citizens United and also railed against the rise of money in politics.

–This story was updated on July 15