Put Your Money Where Your Politics Are

By TOBIN HARSHAW
NYT

McCain-Feingold, that Quixotic attempt to turn money and politics into oil and water, was lanced by the Supreme Court on Thursday in a 5-4 decision based on the idea, espoused by Justice Anthony Kennedy, that “If the First Amendment has any force, it prohibits Congress from fining or jailing citizens, or associations of citizens, for simply engaging in political speech.” To some extent, most of us would agree on the “citizens” point — it’s that “associations” bit that’s the fly in the ointment for many.

“Making a mockery of some justices’ pretensions to judicial restraint, the Supreme Court unnecessarily and wrongly ruled 5 to 4 that the constitutional guarantee of free speech means that corporations can spend unlimited sums to help elect favored candidates or defeat those they oppose,” read The Washington Post’s editorial.

“This overreaching by the majority, including Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., belies Roberts’ assurances to the Senate during his confirmation that he believed in judicial modesty and decision-making by consensus,” added The Los Angeles Times. “Instead, Thursday’s decision, with conservatives on one side and liberals on another, inevitably will encourage the impression that the court is just another political body.”

“With a single, disastrous 5-to-4 ruling, the Supreme Court has thrust politics back to the robber-baron era of the 19th century,” warned The Times editorial board. “Disingenuously waving the flag of the First Amendment, the court’s conservative majority has paved the way for corporations to use their vast treasuries to overwhelm elections and intimidate elected officials into doing their bidding.”

(More here.)