Ed Whitfield: “the Buckley decision was obviously the most important campaign finance decision made by the Supreme Court. Justice…”

“the Buckley decision was obviously the most important campaign finance decision made by the Supreme Court. Justice Thurgood Marshall in that opinion wrote, ``One of the points on which all members of the Court agree is that money is essential for effective communication.'' Now, in Federal campaigns we have two kinds of money. We have soft money, which is money spent by any organization, any individual, or a political party to talk about issues. Now, in my campaign in 1996, the labor union spent $866,000 against me in TV ads, and it said, paid for by the AFL-CIO. That is soft money. I did not like it, but I think they have the right to run them. The Supreme Court have repeatedly ruled they have that right. Hard money is money spent by candidates for Federal office. It is used specifically to elect or defeat a candidate and is, therefore, regulated by the Federal Government. Now, the Shays-Meehan bill, not only does it place a cap on the amount that a person can spend of their own money, but it also prohibits any organization, any individuals and political parties of any political philosophy from spending money to educate people about issues within 60 days of the election. So in Federal elections, where does that leave us? Those that spend hard money, the candidates, and then, of course, members of the news media will be able to express their views. They will be the only ones.…”