I’m sad that I even have to waste time on this topic. A few weeks ago the Supreme Court struck down a provision of the McCain-Feingold Act that violates the First Amendment of the Constitution. While the story has been the outrage from the left and independents about the ruling (thanks in part to the horrible coverage in the press) the real story should be there are four justices on the Supreme Court who don’t understand Freedom of Speech. The ruling by the Supreme Court didn’t go far enough in protecting Free Speech as far as I’m concerned. Rodney Smith has an op-ed in the Washington Times that agrees with my position.
In Federalist 10, James Madison states that special interest groups will always exist and that we need to get use to them. He argues that “Liberty is to faction, what air is to fire. Human life is sustained by air. So is fire.” The elimination of air to eliminate the threat of fire would also mean the end of human life. Likewise, freedom is essential to both special interests and to vigorous political debate. Withdraw freedom from special interest and you destroy political life itself. This is exactly what campaign finance reform has done.
If tomorrow I decide to make a movie about a political candidate and it’s funded by a major film studio what business does the Federal Government have in telling me it’s not allowed? It may be unseemly to some that a corporation funds my movie but unseemly doesn’t rise to the point of restricting the First Amendment. The most frustrating part of this issue is there isn’t anyone adequately explaining why this decision was a victory for the First Amendment. It’s certainly not President Obama, who shamefully attacked the Supreme Court during the State of the Union. Obviously, the President either doesn’t understand or would rather score cheap populist points than tell the truth.
Why are corporations such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and FOX News exempt from campaign finance laws? The editorial content of these news outlets is very political and is absolutely not objective. The reason these corporations are exempt is the same reason why campaign finance reform is unconstitutional. That’s what is so shocking to me about this issue. The four liberal members of the Supreme Court are okay with some corporations and some citizens being denied the Bill of Rights.
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