First, thanks for the specifics on "legal personhood". Definitely helpful for me.
I do not believe that restrictions on corporations violate the individual rights of the owners. Aren't the owners are allowed to participate in politics individually, just as every citizen can?
Restrictions on corporations prevent the owners from using some of their property to participate in politics.
Similarly, computers aren't people. So does a restriction on "speech by computers" violate your rights? I.e., a law saying "you can't use your computer to advocate for or against the election of a politician?"
I understand this line of thinking, but I think it oversimplifies the issue. Some companies have a market cap larger than a small country. Some companies sell weapons to foreign militaries. Tools of different power need different laws governing them. I think the fact we restrict the political speech of federal employees (example: public school teachers) reflects this idea. Are you suggesting the same laws that apply to a pen that Larry Page owns should apply to the Google home page?
We don't restrict the political speech of federal employees except when they are at work. Public school teachers are free to advocate for anything they want and donate their pay to all sorts of causes.
In 2008, teachers were the largest group of political speakers nationwide, and contributed $13 million more to political causes than the largest corporation (the Penn National Gaming company). In general, government employees contribute more money to politics than corporations. In fact, in the list of the top 10 political contributors, there are 2 corporations (both gambling), 2 unions, 4 indian tribes, realtors, and a left wing PAC.
And yes, I do suggest that freedom of speech should apply to all speech, even speech that is heard by millions of people. Similarly, the same laws on vocal speech should apply to me and to Oprah, in spite of the fact that vastly more people will hear and be persuaded by her.
I do not believe that restrictions on corporations violate the individual rights of the owners. Aren't the owners are allowed to participate in politics individually, just as every citizen can?