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 Free Speech is Anything But Free
by Tom Campbell
June 28, 2007
Following the Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling there were shouts of joy that so-called 527 grass roots lobbying groups can buy TV “issue advocacy ads,” even mentioning candidates’ names, up to Election Day. Some of my broadcast friends were ecstatic over the many thousands of dollars in additional revenues they would get from these advocacy groups. Others shouted approval because the court strongly affirmed the First Amendment rights of these groups to speak freely about political issues.
With so many so jubilant about this decision, why am I so troubled by this ruling? For one thing this is one more reason to believe big money will influence the outcome of elections. Yes, money has always been a factor in elections, but that shouldn’t remove the concern. We have been told that, in more than 80 percent of elections, the winner was the candidate who spent the most money. The McCain-Feingold Act attempted to impose limits on campaign spending. The court effectively neutered this act. It is one thing to say we believe in open elections, but are there no limits, no restrictions that should apply?
Another concern is the charade that these “issue” ads really concern policy. In truth, they are thinly-veiled candidate ads. “Tell candidate X to support...” the ads say, or tell candidate Y she is wrong about….” The court’s decision allows this practice to continue, effectively circumventing contribution laws. We support any group’s right to speak to issues, but allowing candidate names to be mentioned changes the entire landscape.
My major concern focuses on the free speech aspect of the court’s decision. Who isn’t for free speech? No one would publicly embrace censorship. Amendment One of our U.S. Constitution, the right to freedom of speech, is an essential element of our freedoms. But the court erroneously assumes that free speech will be equally available and evenly applied. It won’t. You and I don’t have that same opportunity, even if we had the money. The law restricts how much money individuals can contribute to a candidate’s campaign, but high-dollar lobby groups, corporations, political parties and unions now have unlimited spending rights.
We will defend to the death anyone’s right to speak out on public policy issues, so long as those rights are equal. Our elections need more, not less debate. But the Supreme Court decision dropped a bomb in what some have termed a financial arms race between well-heeled special interest groups. The 2008 elections will demonstrate how much money these groups are willing to spend to buy elections. Free speech will be anything but free. |
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