Orrin Hatch: “The political class is not sliding reluctantly down a slippery slope, it is eagerly skiing down it, extending its…”

“The political class is not sliding reluctantly down a slippery slope, it is eagerly skiing down it, extending its regulation of political speech in order to make its life less stressful and more secure. Thus is the First Amendment nibbled away, like an artichoke devoured leaf by leaf. This is an example of what has been called ``the Latin Americanization'' of American law--the proliferation of increasingly rococo laws in attempts to enforce fundamentally flawed laws. Reformers produce such laws from the bleak, paternalistic premise that unfettered participation in politics by means of financial support of political speech is a ``problem" that must be ``solved.'' One reason the media are complacent about such restrictions on (others') political speech is that restrictions enhance the power of the media as the filters of political speech, and as unregulated participants in a shrunken national conversation. What a comment, terrific comment.…”