The Score: First Amendment Two – Book Banners Zero
by Chris BergCitizens United v. FEC made clear that political speech cannot be limited simply because the speakers have organized themselves under a corporate form. It was just one short year ago that the case was argued for the first time before the Supreme Court, and the federal government shockingly asserted that it could ban books.
One year later we have seen the First Amendment vindicated not once, but twice – first in Citizens United and now in SpeechNow.org v. FEC. Last week, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit protected the rights of individuals to donate to groups wishing to exercise their right to political speech.
In SpeechNow.org v. FEC a political organization sought to “promote the First Amendment rights of free speech and freedom to assemble by expressly advocating for federal candidates whom it views as supporting those rights and against those whom it sees as insufficiently committed to those rights.”
The organization planned to solicit funds from individuals and use those funds to run independent expenditures “expressly advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate.”
Helmed by David Keating, SpeechNow was poised to aggressively raise funds and bring its message to the public. SpeechNow.org had asked the FEC whether it must register as a political committee. If so, SpeechNow would have been subject to federally imposed contribution limits. Though the FEC lacked sufficient Commissioners to issue an opinion, a draft advisory opinion was provided “stating that SpeechNow would be a political committee and contributions to it would be subject to the political committee contribution limits.”
Believing those contribution limits to be unconstitutional SpeechNow filed suit. It’s the efforts of SpeechNow to defend its rights that brought us to this victory for free speech. Contribution limits to independent expenditure organizations are unconstitutional.
The DC Circuit, relying on Citizens United, reached an elegantly simple solution:
The Supreme Court has recognized only one interest sufficiently important to outweigh the First Amendment interests implicated by contributions for political speech: preventing corruption or the appearance of corruption.
* * *
Citizens United holds that independent expenditures do not corrupt or give the appearance of corruption as a matter of law, then the government can have no anti-corruption interest in limiting contributions to independent expenditure-only organizations.
This is a big win for the right to political speech.
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88 Comments
Maybe the government should put LIMITS on the amount of money ANY candidate can use for political reasons! It's NOT FAIR that only the rich are able to run for ANY office!!!
this is about those who believe in Free Commerce…
And those who don't. The only people who have real issues with the rights of a collective business ('corporation)
or collective worker's association (unions) to have a right as a separate entity to voice a political opinion are statists. Oddly enough, although unions are included in this interpretation the left seems to hate it anyway?
Why, you ask?
Because given the present circumstances the current law favors unions. Ergo the success of Obama. By evening the playing field it takes their natural advantage away. And now that communist agitator Craig Becker was given
a recess appointment (he believes they can pass card check WITHOUT congressional approval, natch) to the NLRB they are in full tilt boogie to seal their advantage.
BEFORE they get thrown out on their arses in November…
I see one allowable limitation/regulation that the government can place upon political speech. Namely, that political speech must accurately identify the speaker (individual, political campaign, organization). This is to combat the possibility of misrepresenting the source of speech. For example a group supporting politician A could publish a racist political add against politician A in order to make politician B look racists, when politician B had nothing to do with the add in the first place.
Big, Bad, Evil Business Corporations have long found a way around campaign finance limits. Usually by forming PACs and contributions by "individual employees". They also find ways to funnel money to non-profit "citizen" organizations for advertising on specific issues that help a certain candidates even if they are not named. No limits, but with absolute transparency best.
BTW, we should remeber that BBEB Corporations are composed of real people: Employees, share-holders down to working stiffs with pension funds holding stock, or 401Ks. Also, the BBEB Corporate intrests are not necessarily or automatically detrimental to the interests of the nation as a whole (unless your a progressive, of coures).
It would be unfair to restrict an individuals right to run and limit the money he can spend. You have the exact same right as the other person to run for office and the exact same right to obtain the wealth to help get your message heard.
Let us hope so dcase, let us hope so. Many people have always missed the whole organized labor aspect of all this. Organized labor, left to it's own devices, was on it's way out in this country. The current administration has been chafing at the bit to outlaw secret ballot, give them extra clout at the ballot, hand them ownership of government motors, and less we forget, get an extention on not having to pay excise tax on their negotiated "cadillac" health insurance plans.
absolutely…
And they- Obama's 'boss' and most frequent guest Andy ('workers of the world unite!') Stern is determined that the end of the secret ballot MUST happen no matter what. Illegal, or unconstitutional methods are ok fine.
That;s why Becker is in there…
Free Speech – what a concept !…I could talk about it all day long…
Boy, the Obama and his minions have got to be sweating…
All this Constitutionalism breaking out must be REALLY SCARY…
Good…
Amazing how we can have 1 branch of government fighting against the other 2 and winning! I just hope that none of our conservative judges retire during Obama's term!
No wonder Obuttmunch hates this court. If he can't take away our free speech he may not be able to properly fit us for a leash. Bad doggie!
Yep, i think you're on message on this. Want big government to determine how much money you can spend? Who can spend it? What it can be spent on? If so then go right ahead and let government baby you through life.
Man, I can't believe that our GOD given rights are coming back up in court!
Let's see what they do with our 2nd Amendment Rights!!!
Our current Government SCARES THE SHIT OUT OF ME!!!
The sad part was that it was stepped on before it had to go to court to be upheld. Kinda like this Health Care debacle is going to have to play out.
It is good to see these victories for free speech. The assault on free speech has been relentless for the past year.
http://www.PoliticalCentrist.com News and views for independent voters
It's donating to groups that want to exercise their rights in political speech. It's not a political campaign contribution so the money cannot be used for any political reason.
Hasn't your mom ever told you that life wasn't fair?
obama knew that we would turn to the constitution thats why he is putting in all those lawyers around him.
Simple response. Political campaigns should have a set limit based on the position sought using per capita. Doesn't matter if the funds come from one source or thousands. All donations and expenditures are reported on a monthly basis. Should a candidate fail to report then the penalty should be removal from the ballot and election.
Clean, simple, and transparent.
A good portion of the blame for expensive campaigns should belong to a populace (ours) which seems to equate time spent on TV with "electability".
If more education were given to critical thinking, debate skills, application of logic, etc., many ads would be seen by more people for what they are: empty promises, devoid of real content or information. An informed and engaged populace wants REAL debates (not the showy, empty fake kind seen at election time), and REAL information. They want to examine candidates' records. They want results.
The rich have an advantage because we ALLOW them to.
They don't care. So long as the evil Republicans are vanquished, alle ist Gut!
If you really wanted to allow the common man an opportunity to successfully run for office, than get rid of spending limits. One of the unintended (or not…) consequences of campaign finance laws was to make it nigh impossible for anybody but the independently wealthy to run for office.
think that would fall under the "corruption" exemption?
Have you been reading the DNCC play book again? Seems like they pulled this stunt just before the Health Care vote in the House.
all ist Kaput!
Ummmmmmmm… they don't need a law. Union members can elect union leadership that supports the members political agenda and donate money in an appropriate fashion. The members can vote out leadership that doesn't follow member sentiment.
Or…… the members can quit the union altogether or better yet, simply stop paying dues. But you don't need a law.
We have enough laws. And if people are paying dues to a union that works to that persons detriment than I personally have no sympathy for them.
Please lose the class warfare shtick; it isn't something someone who uses the Galdstone flag, as an avatar, should engage in.
All candidates have the same ability to get out there and raise money; personal wealth didn't help either of the Romneys' presidential hopes, though it DID buy a fraudulent win for JFK.
Oh yes, that IS exactly why Becker is there.
Just had to replace Sandra Day and we have a center/center-right SCOTUS
WTF, LIMITS?
I don't see any upside to limits, but there's certainly a speech issue at stake. I haven't seen money play a decisive role in politics, ever; remember Ross Perot. In my mind, money is way over rated, and sound policies are under rated. We Americans are smart enough to sense when our vote is being purchased and that doesn't speak well of the candidate. C'mon, anyone can run for office, and anyone can acquire tons of money, but not everyone has what it takes to win a campaign. Money is not the deciding factor. If you want to know how to win campaigns, read Karl Rove's book.
<DIV>okay, you're right…silly of me, I am well aware that we have too many laws already…but, in many places, joining the union is not optional (at least if you want the job), and I don't really know how much direct influence the members have, since I would never personally join a union, but I am in a \”right to work\” state, where I have the option.</DIV> <DIV></DIV> <DIV>Unions are now bigger, more powerful, and more exploitive that the employers they were established to control ever were!
— On Mon, 3/29/10, IntenseDebate Notifications <notifications@intensedebatemail.com> wrote:
</DIV>
Still no Anon. I am so worried. Hey Anon, did your mom lock the basement door or something? I'll keep looking.
Sorry, but Gary Bertsen will have less money to spend than either Chris Cox or Randy Altschuler (in my area). Cox is being courted by the local GOP due to his status as NIxon grandson and famous prosecutor; Altschuler is getting attention from the local Conservative party heads despite his past membership in the Greens. Why?
Who the hell is Berntsen? That's why.
The conservative hoi polloi likes Berntsen best, as polled by local groups like 9/12 and CSA-1776. He's got `65% approval. Yet we have to fight to make the local GOP and Conservative parties have a primary and not just tell us who we're going to get to vote for. I want a debate between candidates. I want a primary. This isn't about "class warfare"; it's about the party heads picking the guy with the most money or name recognition to run before the people get a say in things. And it's wrong.
The Obutt-cleanse? Better health through natural processes? Maybe you wont need that expensive colonoscopy! Keepin it clean through fear!
Are you a member of the NRA? If not, JOIN!
Seems to me enough Dums get it on #2, so don't be too worried…
Oh go cry me a river……………..boo F'in hooooooooooooo !
It's far more Ed Cox, Chris's father, than his grandfather, President Richard M. Nixon, who is the connection for campaign contributions.
Gary WHO ?
Okay, yes, I had to look him up and I see that he's running for Congress in N.Y. first district; as is Cox. This is a LOCVAL race, everyone who gives a damn, will find out what each man stands for and vote in the primary accordingly. So what's the problem? It's up to Bernesen to get his name and positions out there; not to place rfoadblocks in front of Cox and Altschuler !
And yes, your posts are nothing less than class warfare, not to mention "victimhood". With people like you supporting Gary, the way you are, it turns off people who've never heard of him, but run into you.
What's wrong, is your ignorance of how politics works, as well as your way of thinking !
Nixon Grandson OUCH sounds like poison to me Sorry but I was there when he stepped down and I could not find a soul Dem or Rep who voted for him it was as if the lord himself had filled out the landslide ballots. The Same is happening to the Bamster now. I wouldn't vote for a Nixon. Fool me once and all that you know.
Times like these when I want to kick some serious a**. I never knew how deeply I loved–my country–until these liberal cretins started trying to debase her.
You liberals–your days are numbered. Oh yea, they are.
The Constitution has rights, too. That why our Founders put the Supreme Court around it.
Are there any Liberals that don't see what is happening to our country? How blind do you have to be. I guess many followed Hitler to their deaths and had no clue until they were dead.
With all due respect you can't quit a union and or stop paying dues and still keep the job…it dosn't work that way.
"It's NOT FAIR "
is baby talk. Come up with a real non-emotive premise and you too, can join the world of reasoned discourse. Perhaps you should bemoan the reality that common sense is not required in order to hold office.
By the way, didn't your mom ever teach you that fair doesn't always mean equal?.
If my memory serves me, the secret ballot legislation currently exists at the insistence of the Unions. Now they want a do-over?
And a fraudulent Obama win! That was my point!!
Let it alone, huckle–can't anon have his diaper changed in peace?
Here, here for free speech. Personally, I believe that as long as there are open books (i.e., total transparency – which we do not have at the present time), any person, group, or membership organization should be allowed to donate any amount of money to any politician. Then we know who gets what from whom.
I guess you don't know what "class warfare" is, then.
And the local conservative groups HAVE been hosting candidates' nights to discern differences in philosophy between all candidates who would take part (most of them, as it turned out). The locals have a favorite: Berntsen. The locals are also fighting the party machines who want to nominate THEIR favorite, and give their favorite their (OUR) campaign money.
You call it "class warfare". That's YOUR ignorance.
Sounds like blackmail to me my friend. With all due respect to you at what point is enough enough? I know there are bills to pay and children to feed but when do you take a stand and stop supporting an entity bent on destroying the very system that made your living possible? And is “pay up or else” really freedom?
The union movement was built on the premise that if the workers were willing to make the sacrifices it took to refuse to work than business would be forced to acquiesce. It was not easy. Nor was it neat and clean, but it worked. Maybe it is time to give the unions a dose of their own.
With the new student loan takeover, the U.S. government has the power to be the biggest book banning entity ever created. Because they now control student loans, they have unprecedented power over our colleges and universities. The government can now say,"preach from these books or we will not approve any loans for students wishing to attend your school"!
Just letting you know, dcase, someone's trying to hijack your name. He or she is being reported whenever he/she leaves a comment.
thanks for the heads up…
There are foes out there who find us a threat. To what, we're not sure. But thanks anyway…
Oh, we're a threat to the 'progressive' marxist, socialist way of life that the liberals want to impose upon us. Apparently, those forms of government are 'new' to the left–as you may notice, our democrat brothers and sisters aren't well read in history or Constitutional Law.
Actually, they're not well read at all. They just 'make up the rules' as they go along.
in the abstract, yes, you're right…
What we meant is what their individual problem is. If we were to go into (God forbid) MoveOn.Org or whatever and throw a brick we would stick around to defend it; and we would also not insult the intelligence of those people by regurgitation Mike Steele's RNC talking points.
But hen again some people have ethics…
Unlike YOU, I actually DO know what class warfare is and how politics works.
You need to grow up, get educated, and learn what's what ! This isn't a fifth grade class president run.
The "machine" ( and yes all states have them; have ALWAYS had them !) can be got around, when/if they care enough !
Not only did I vote for President Nixon, I worked on his campaign and NEVER denied it. I also know a lot of people just like me, so obviously, you only knew cowards and liars.
Good for you 1redcent and you are right I only asked Liars and Cowards and there were lots of them. He won in a legitimate landslide. My point was that when an electorate feels betrayed they will deny you faster then St. Peter
Actually, I works on both of his two winning presidential campaigns and went to his inaugurals. He was a good man and a good president, and I know lots of people who also worked on those campaigns with me, or just voted for him and not a one of us has EVER denied our support for him.
Did we approve of everything he ever did or said? HELL NO, but that's the case for every pol; every person, for that matter.
Most of us are still angry and sick that he didn't just burn those tapes, BTW.
You're right about a lot of people denying their votes, though and that's happening right now, vis-a-vis Obama voters.
Well yes, that too.
Get your horse tack!…
Not sure if this is the right place (I’m not really good with computers), but left you a trackback for your readers, if they ever need some information about horse tack….
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