The War on Speech

TCS:

The magic trick that reformers have managed to perform here is really something to behold. They've turned citizens into numbers. A 527 is nothing more than a group of Americans who have banded together -- 5 of them, 27 of them, 527 of them or 10,000 of them - to criticize their elected leaders, or candidates for office, and to share the costs of doing so. But by calling these people by a number, they can be made to sound shadowy and devious. The speech 527 groups engage in is fundamental to the First Amendment, yet it is exactly this speech -- not the influence behind it -- that is being targeted by Congress. So much for 'Congress shall make no law...' 527s already are barred from engaging in 'express advocacy,' urging the election or defeat of one candidate or another. Furthermore, the groups are banned from coordinating with candidates.

Read the whole thing. I don't believe that there should be any limit on speaking, or on contributing money to spread a message which is also a form of speech. Certainly we don't want politicians being 'bought' but I think disclosure laws, which I am in support of, provide plenty of remedy for that on it's own. This bit from the article explains the motivations of politicians quite well though:

McCain is even more blatant about the incumbent-protection angle. As The Washington Times reported last week, "McCain said lawmakers should support the bill out of self-interest, because it would prevent a rich activist from trying to defeat an incumbent by directing money into a political race through a 527 organization." "That should alarm every federally elected member of Congress," McCain said.

Well, that settles my fears...nothing could be worse than an incumbent losing his office because voters found out things they don't like about him!