Saturday, June 28, 2008

The Millionaire's Amendment

By Libby

I didn't around to blogging much on the SCOTUS decisions, but this was the under-reported one on campaign contributions and I was trying to make sense of it before I posted. The court struck down a provision of campaign finance reform that allowed a candidate to accept larger contributions from individuals if they were up against an opponent rich enough to fund themselves.

I couldn't figure out how to sum up my reaction but luckily James Joyner did it for me.
Yesterday’s Court decision protects the interests of a relative handful of millionaire candidates for office. But it does not restore the rights of tens millions of Americans who have organized themselves politically to spend their money — which the Court acknowledges is speech — as they see fit in trying to defeat said millionaires. It’s a very strange paradox.
Indeed and strange timing. This was for House races only but considering it's an election year, it was a hell of a time to throw a new wrinkle into the rules and it certainly did nothing to even the playing field.

That's the real trouble with our government. It's run almost solely by rich people at every level and they will look out for each other. We don't even exist in their understanding of the world.

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5 Comments:

Blogger Swampcracker said...

Libby, the clear implication is that we must pool our resources and more than redouble our efforts to level the playing field. When all else fails, I have permanent residency rights in the EU, and that is where I will go if this country slides into fascism.

2:54:00 AM  
Blogger Swampcracker said...

There is a link at the bottom of this article that lists self-funded candidates. With respect to Senate races, Dems beat Reprehensibles by a ratio of 2:1. That sheds a somewhat different light on things.

3:27:00 AM  
Blogger Libby Spencer said...

I wish I had permanent residency rights somewhere. I have a feeling we may need them.

9:05:00 AM  
Blogger Capt. Fogg said...

I have a UK visa but the climate in the BVI suits me far better.

3:33:00 PM  
Blogger Libby Spencer said...

You're lucky you have a boat for a quick getaway Fogg.

4:28:00 PM  

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