Money talks
The debate over campaign finance reform
On Monday, the Democratic National Committee filed a brief with the Supreme Court, arguing that overhauling the campaign finance system could “stifle the type of small donations that helped power Barack Obama to victory in last Novembers election.” The DNC’s brief was in response to the Supreme Court’s decision to review whether some of the campaign finance restrictions imposed by the 2002 McCain-Feingold Bill are unconstitutional.
The issue of campaign finance reform illustrates a tension between freedom of speech and the desire to have free and fair elections. Opponents of campaign finance reform argue that limits on campaign contributions are a clear violation of First Amendment rights. Political donations are a form of political speech and expression that should not be regulated.
Our strong First Amendment protections mean that we will sometimes be exposed to speech which is inconvenient or excessive, but this is considered a necessary tradeoff in a society in which people are free to voice their opinions and be involved in the political process. When we limit “political speech” because we don’t like its effect on our elections, we are undermining the basic principles of the First Amendment.
Former RNC chairmen Michael Duncan expressed similar sentiments in an e-mail this January stating “The RNC is fighting for the same thing our founders fought for: the right to speak and associate freely.”
However, those on the other side of the fence argue that critics of campaign finance restrictions are missing the essence of the First Amendment. In his 2005 book Active Liberty, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer explains his conception of the First Amendment, and how it relates to campaign finance reform:
The First amendment seeks primarily to encourage the exchange of information and ideas necessary for citizens themselves to shape that public opinion which is the final source of government in a democratic state. In these ways the Amendment helps to maintain a form of government open to participation by “all citizens, without exception.”
Further, large corporations and interest groups who influence the political system by donating large sums of money bear a striking resemblance to the “factions” that the Founding Fathers were so concerned about. As James Madison states in Federalist Paper No. 54:
In a society under the forms of which the stronger faction can readily unite and oppress the weaker, anarchy may as truly be said to reign as in a state of nature.
Madison saw unequal distribution of wealth as the source of factions, and feared that certain factions would become too powerful and pursue their personal agenda at the expense of the common good. One can argue that without campaign finance restrictions a few “strong factions” will guide the political agenda, and the rights of individuals must be protected from the tyranny of large political interest groups.
Thus, by limiting “the appearance of corruption” and the overarching influence of large corporations, campaign finance reform can encourage the participation of ordinary citizens in the political process and prevent their voices from being lost in a storm of special interests and dollar signs. The DNC’s brief offers a similar opinion, arguing that limits on large corporate donations inspired small donators and gave them a means to have a substantial impact in the last election. Thus, Breyer and others of similar opinion argue that campaign finance restrictions should be judged based on whether they “strike a reasonable balance between electoral speech-restricting and speech-enhancing consequences.”
The debate over campaign finance illustrates the difficulty in determining how best to preserve and promote our First Amendment rights while also fostering a democratic society that upholds the basic values of the Constitution.
–Luke
Related posts:
- Fish on the First, Continued
- Campaign financing revisited
- Law & animal rights
- Fish on the First
- What does corruption require?
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