The rights of corporations- and all such groups- are, in the opinion of legal students, covered by the 14th Amendment and have been for over a century. Within that Amendment, limits may be placed on what those bodies may do; if it is ruled that contributions by them should be limited, the same limitations would undoubtedly be placed on unions, societies, action groups, etc.

The original intent when it was ratified has little to do with the current content or intent of the much enlarged and modified Amendment; the vengeful reconstruction provisions may have been intended to protect freed slaves, but they imposed conditions on the South that caused rancor and blocked industrial development, causing hardship to both blacks and whites, factors that slowed integration for many years.