Andrea Joy Campbell: “I want to commence by complimenting him. There is no more sincere friend of campaign finance reform than the gentleman…”

“I want to commence by complimenting him. There is no more sincere friend of campaign finance reform than the gentleman from California, and I applaud his work. Madam Chairman, I would like to use the minutes I have to speak about the first amendment, about "Can't vote, can't contribute," and about paycheck protection. On the first amendment, I have heard on the floor already expressed review that the first amendment will not tolerate any campaign finance reform. This is simply not true. First of all, the Constitution gives to the Congress and the States the obligation to control the time, places, and manner of elections. Second, the Supreme Court of the United States has on at least 14 occasions decided what kind of speech can be restricted. We cannot advertise a dangerous product, we cannot announce prices and fix them with somebody else, we cannot speak if the speech would pose an imminent risk of great danger. All of these, one might say, are restrictions on speech under the first amendment, and yet they have been permitted by the Supreme Court. Why is this? Because they preserve the fundamentals of the First Amendment. The same is true with campaign finance reform.”