Last Thursday, the Supreme Court got it right. When the Supreme Court was created by the Founding Fathers, it was not intended to promote social justice or uphold laws that are popular with much of the public. The Supreme Court instead serves to ensure that laws follow the Constitution strictly as it is written.
When the federal government oversteps its constitutionally prescribed powers, it is up to the judiciary to keep those federal power grabs in check. Free speech, a cornerstone of the Bill of Rights, should be protected. The 5-4 majority struck down needless campaign finance laws because, as argued by Justice Anthony Kennedy in the majority opinion, corporations and other for-profit and nonprofit organizations have every right to free speech and expression. In sum, he says “no sufficient governmental interest justifies limits on the political speech.”
Using money to fund issue ads telling voters to support or vote against a candidate is free speech and is now protected as such.
Interest groups are vital to politics because they give people a collective voice in Washington, D.C., to represent their interests. Blue-collar workers, white-collar workers and opposing interests, business and labor and other interests will now have more robust representation in Washington, D.C. Interest groups are necessary for the vitality of democratic governments, and limiting their free expression is limiting the ability for many Americans to have ample representation in government affairs.
The decisions handed down by the Supreme Court are not always popular with some, but when they restore free speech rights and allow freedom of expression for groups that give representation to many Americans, then you know they are doing their jobs.
