Mike Levin: “The Shays-Meehan bill does not gag speech any more than our present limitation on independent expenditures upheld by the…”

“The Shays-Meehan bill does not gag speech any more than our present limitation on independent expenditures upheld by the court gags. Right now, if somebody comes in with an ad that says, defeat so-and-so, they have to come within the structures set up by Congress. There are limits on what can be contributed, and there are requirements for disclosure. The question is, if the magic words, which really are not magical, 'elect' or 'defeat' are not used, should the ad be immune from any limitation as to amount or any disclosure? That is what we are talking about. What Shays-Meehan says is that we should not provide this loophole. When Buckley was decided, there were not these barrages, these bombardments of so-called issue ads. In the last few years we have had them in torrents. And what the majority is saying is, or some of the majority, is that they want those to go on without any regulation at all. Now, this is not, therefore, an issue of gagging any more than Buckley gagged free speech. It did not. It balanced our needs for free speech, and I love the First Amendment and voted against efforts a few days ago to undermine it. The question is, how do we apply it to today's politics?”