Jun

26

Slap Slap McCain - Feingold (Marriage From Hell)

June 26, 2007 |

 The Presidential race is already hot and heavy. So in the midst of the campaign season for 2008 it was nice to see the High Court dismantle parts of McCain - Feingold. Perhaps one of the worst pieces of legislation (hard to say because lately there have been so many) which attacked the fundamental right of free speech. One of the groups most hurt was the pro-life movement. By the way have you noticed just how bad the bills have been when they are so called bi-partisan…. (campaign reform, finances, school initiatives and especially the immigration bill).

The case, FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life, challenged part of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 that bars corporations and unions from using general funds for broadcast ads that mention the name of a federal candidate within 30 days of a primary election and 60 days of a general election.

“The court today has rejected the audacious attempt by Senator McCain and his allies to overturn the First Amendment’s protection and empower incumbent politicians with the power to ban public criticism,” said James Bopp, lead counsel for Wisconsin Right to Life.

“The American Revolution was fought, and the First Amendment enacted, precisely to protect the people’s right to criticize the government,” Bopp said.

They might remember that when they talk about limiting free speech of conservatives with the “fairness doctrine”. Here is some more background from the Chicago Tribune.

The decision involved ads that Wisconsin Right to Life wanted to broadcast during the 2004 election campaign. The spots denounced efforts to block Senate votes on President Bush’s judicial nominees and urged citizens to contact their senators, Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold. But the 2002 federal campaign finance law made it a crime for corporations or unions to run ads mentioning a candidate for office (which Feingold was) within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of a general election. So Wisconsin Right to Life went to court arguing that the ban infringed on its freedom of speech. This week, by a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court agreed.

Previously, the court had said Congress may ban such ads if they amount to attempts to influence the outcome of an election — even if the commercials don’t specifically advocate voting for or against a candidate. But as Chief Justice John Roberts explained in the court’s opinion, that doesn’t give the Federal Election Commission the power to suppress genuine “issue ads” merely because they mention a candidate.

As a rule, he said, only spots that are the “functional equivalent” of campaign ads may be banned. If, on the other hand, a commercial “may reasonably be interpreted as something other than an appeal to vote for or against a specific candidate,” it must be allowed.

I would like to say ding dong the wicked witch is dead but perhaps this is the first of more steps to gut this horrible piece of legislation.


Comments

1 Comment so far

  1. Yoshimitsu on June 2, 2008 11:59 am

    Mccain won’t do this again i hope? i will still hold my nose and vote for him

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