SCOTUS strikes down “millionaire’s amendment”
I don’t understand campaign finance laws very well at all. The McCain/Feingold law seems to have made it all very complex. But it sounds like a small victory for freer speech below:
“The US Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the so-called ‘millionaire’s amendment’ of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, saying it violated free-speech protections. In a 5-to-4 ruling, the high court said Congress cannot use federal election laws to disadvantage candidates who choose to use their own money to run for a seat in Congress. The idea behind the law was to prevent a wealthy candidate from using massive personal spending in a campaign to drown out the voices of other candidates. It was also intended to counter the impression that seats in Congress can be purchased.”
The WSJ has more. Having different speech rules for different people certainly does seem obnoxious in principle.
Posted by John Ray. For a daily critique of Leftist activities, see DISSECTING LEFTISM. For a daily survey of Australian politics, see AUSTRALIAN POLITICS Also, don’t forget your roundup of Obama news and commentary at OBAMA WATCH
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Posted by JonJayRay on June 28, 2008 9:19 am
» Filed Under 1st Amendment, Elections, News, Politics As Usual
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