John Robert's Work Not Done YET - Lays The Groundwork To Wipe Out Campaign Finance Limits

[kpete]

John Roberts Lays The Groundwork To Wipe Out Campaign Finance Limits

Not only did the Supreme Court deliver a major blow Wednesday to campaign finance restrictions, it may have laid the groundwork to dismantle what's left of campaign contribution limits, legal experts say.

The controlling opinion in McCutcheon v. FEC, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, eliminated "aggregate" limits on a person's contribution to candidates and political committees in an election cycle. It left untouched restrictions on how much money someone can give to a single candidate or committee -- but Roberts' reasoning signals that those may be in trouble, too.

"By requiring that any campaign finance laws be deemed necessary to prevent quid pro quo corruption, akin to bribery, many more campaign laws could fall in the near future, including those base $2,600 limits," wrote Rick Hasen, an election law expert at UC Irvine. "While Roberts goes out of his way to say that those base limits were not challenged today, he does not do anything to affirm that those limits are safe."

The long game, which many court watchers have written about, reflects the 59-year-old chief justice's preference for gradually -- rather than swiftly -- chipping away at progressive laws, which makes the decisions more enduring and reduces public ire directed at the Supreme Court. Since Alito joined the court in 2006, the five-member majority of Republican-appointed justices has shown plenty of skepticism -- and little sympathy -- toward campaign finance restrictions.

the rest:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/john-roberts-campaign-finance-limits

[Skinner]

1. Sadly, I think this is true.

The $2,600 per-candidate limit is probably toast.

[WillyT]

2. Must Read: K & R !!!

[CrispyQ]

3. And after that, corporations are allowed to vote! One vote per share.

[Blue_Tires]

4. 10 years from now, we might look at today's election finance laws

as "the good old days"...And how fuckin' scary is THAT?

[greatlaurel]

5. John Roberts is a shockingly stupid man.

We need to post this as often as we can. He sides with them because he is too stupid to have an original thought and it is the only way for him to make any money. He is just bright enough to recognize that he could get an essentially free ride through life by sucking up to the big money people. He does what he is told because he is too stupid to do anything original. His lack of empathy is the key to recognizing his stupidity. Empathy requires a certain level intelligence and he does not have any empathy.