Last week, the Supreme Court struck down the case McCutcheon v. FEC.
The case involved Alabama businessman, Shaun McCutcheon who frequently donated thousands of dollars during the last election cycle. However, McCutcheon was limited in his funds giving due to the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). FECA limits the amount an individual can donate to candidates and political parties in a calendar year.
McCutcheon felt as though FECA’s contribution limitations was a violation of the First Amendment. The Republican National Committee joined McCutcheon in his argument and eventually their case made its way to the Supreme Court. On April 2, five of the nine justices ruled that FECA’s aggregate contribution limits were unconstitutional and eliminating the $2,500 cap on individual donations.
After the final verdict was announced, many citizens said the ruling was a huge victory for our right to freedom of speech. A common trend in American politics is those with the most money make the biggest impact on the outcome. Big business owners and other millionaires were able to somewhat influence the outcome of elections. It takes quite a bit of money to fund an election campaign, and these big business tycoons were able to give money to their preferred candidate in order to help them cross the finish line first.
But how did they get past the individual donations cap? By simply creating a Super PAC (Political Action Committee). Super PACs have no limit on how much they can donate and they can raise funds from individuals, corporations, and other groups without any limit on the amount of the donation. Because they can take up donations from individuals, they’re able to take they’re own money, place it in their Super PACs name, and finally donate it to whatever party they wish.
After the the case was decided, Forbes magazine published an article declared a powerful statement, “A key and often forgotten point about the First Amendment: it protects speech, not speakers.” Because of the final ruling of McCutcheon v. FEC, more speakers now have a voice and can make a bigger impact on the outcome in elections.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2014/04/04/the-mccutcheon-supreme-court-case-is-a-victory-for-free-speech/
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