McCain-Feingold Gets Smacked

SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS RIGHT TO POLITICAL SPEECH

FITSNews – June 26, 2007 -When we interviewed Sen. John McCain aboard the Straight Talk Express earlier this year, we threw him a hardball question about his controversial campaign finance reform bill, specifically asking him how he could support expanding free expression on blogs and other new media venues yet work to limit it in other settings. At the time, McCain answered our question by saying, “the courts have ruled that money is not free speech, money is property.”

It was a nifty little quote to be sure, but in the wake of yesterday’s 5-4 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life, McCain’s assessment no longer holds water.

In declaring unconstitutional the section of the “Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002″ (a.k.a. McCain-Feingold) which prohibits groups from broadcasting ads that mention a candidate’s name in the weeks leading up to an election, the Justices struck a huge blow for our First Amendment freedoms.

Good for them, we say.

Political speech should be protected above all other speech in our opinion because absent our right to question the “powers that be,” we have no power at all.

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