Narrow Decision NOT McCain-Feingold Green Light

ATLANTA/WASHINGTON: The Southeastern Legal Foundation today warns federal lawmakers that today's 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Federal Election Commission v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee is not a green light for McCain-Feingold free speech gag rules and price-fixing.

"Today's narrow decision merely enforces the notion that candidate advocacy by political party organizations may be limited constitutionally by contribution limits imposed by law," said Phil Kent, SLF President. "Independent expenditures, and the free speech advocacy they fund, are nevertheless protected by the Constitution and remain so under this decision."

Today's decision, which holds that "because a party's coordinated expenditures, unlike expenditures truly independent, may be restricted to minimize circumvention of the Act's contribution limits, the Party's facial challenge is rejected," addresses "one part of the campaign finance paradigm, and one part only," said Kent.

"Issue advocacy and the ability of individuals, corporations and unions to spend money to promote political ideas is indeed a form of protected free speech," said Kent. "We reiterate that current campaign finance 'reform' legislation is no reform at all, but rather a series of gag rules on free speech and price-fixing on soft-money activities."

The Foundation's campaign finance litigation team, which won a 1999 U.S. Supreme Court decision banning the use of Census statistical sampling for congressional apportionment, and its chief advisor, former Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, are preparing for a potential constitutional challenge against provisions of McCain-Feingold and Shays-Meehan legislation.

"The high court's decision is somewhat internally inconsistent, revealing the 'live wire' status of the broader campaign finance and free speech issues facing lawmakers and the courts," said Kent. "While this decision, and last week's Alaska federal court decision, help define the contours of constitutional spending and contribution limits, McCain-Feingold and Shays-Meehan make mincemeat out of the First Amendment, and it will be stopped -- either by reasoned heads in Congress or by the courts."

For More Information Contact:
Media Relations
media@southeasternlegal.org
(404) 365-8500