Posted by
Tom L. on Sunday, September 13, 2009 11:45:53 AM
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
From time-to-time it is a good idea to skip all the pontification by various groups and actually go back and read the Constitution of the United States of America.
Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech…
In a demorcratic replublic the most important form of speech is speech for or against those who do or may represent the people. As has been argued by many for years, no matter how well intended, McCain-Feingold is unconstitutional since it restricts political speech, albeit by corporations not individuals. The Constitution does not qualify who gets freedom of speech: Congress shall make no law…
But what happens if we allow corporations to spend millions endorsing or opposing a particular candidate or plan, some corporation will support, some oppose and some not spend the money. If we allow Acme Corporation to spend a zillion dollars praising someone or something, how is it different from all the other organizations that spend money now?
As the Surpreme Court reconsiders the issue, at the end of the day I would rather trust in the people not to be convinced by political advertising, rather than infringe in any way on freedom of speech.