Lobbying, Free Speech and The First Amendment
by Nicholas Provenzo
(March 29, 2008)
Those who seek to shackle lobbyists and regulate political campaigners attack a fundamental freedom: the right to persuade others of the merits of one's views.
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Attacking Lobbyists: The Real Problem is Government's Ability to Grant "Favors"
by Walter Williams
(January 18, 2006)
A much better explanation for the millions going to the campaign coffers of Washington politicians lies in the awesome growth of government control over business, property, employment and other areas of our lives.
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Limit Lobbying By Cutting Government
by Daniel J. Mitchell
(February 5, 2004)
The real problem is that government is too big and has too much power -- and this attracts lobbyists for the same reason that rotten meat attracts flies.
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Campaign-Finance Reform Attacks Victims of Government Corruption
by Onkar Ghate
(December 17, 2003)
If stopping the selling of favors in Washington is the goal, why does no one demand that we simply enforce the laws that make such action illegal? After all, we combat police corruption by prosecuting officers who take kickbacks to overlook crimes. We combat judicial corruption by prosecuting judges who accept bribes in exchange for making unjust rulings. Why not similarly go after Congressmen who trade legislative decisions for campaign contributions?
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Campaign Finance Limits Violate Free Speech
by Andrew Lewis
(October 6, 2003)
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act--under review by the U.S. Supreme Court--is an ominous limitation on free speech.
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Portrait of the Greenspan Era
by Don Luskin
(May 6, 2003)
When it comes to monetary policy, a picture may be worth 100,000 of Alan Greenspan's words.
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Money, Wealth, and the Corruption of Government
by S.M. Oliva
(February 11, 2003)
Wealth is not the cause of corruption in government. If anything, it's a symptom. Campaign contributions are not just about obtaining favors; for many businessmen, they're a means of self-defense against populists who seek to destroy private property rights.
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Campaign Finances and Corruption
by Robert W. Tracinski
(April 18, 2002)
In one of the great ironies of contemporary politics, Congress passed an economic "stimulus" package the day after the recession was declared to be over. Obviously, the legislators didn't really care about stimulating the economy, which had already stimulated itself.
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Campaign Finance Reform Diversions
by Walter Williams
(April 9, 2002)
Congress' campaign reform measure clearly violates the Constitution's First Amendment, and they all know it. They fully expect the U.S. Supreme Court to rule parts of the bill unconstitutional but, like the contractor who built the Buddhist statue on the Catholic church altar, Congress is using the part that violates free speech to divert attention from other incumbent protection features of its campaign finance reform bill.
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"Campaign Finance Reform" Regulates Free Speech
by Thomas Sowell
(March 18, 2002)
Do we really want to allow bureaucrats and politicians to be able to harass citizens for expressing political opinions? Or create such a snarl of red tape about contributing money to candidates or causes as to make people reluctant to participate in political activity, for fear of being dragged into federal court over a form that wasn't filled out right?
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Why New Campaign Finance Laws Will Punish Free Speech, But Not Corruption
by Michelle Malkin
(March 14, 2002)
Campaign finance reform is a joke, and fund-raising criminals like Maria Hsia are getting the last laugh.
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Dissecting the Principles Underlying Campaign Finance Reform
by Michael J. Hurd
(March 8, 2002)
"Soft money" means money spent by non-establishment organizations; "hard money" means money spent by established organizations (CNN, The Washington Post, etc.)
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Top Ten Myths About Campaign Finance Reform
by Todd Gaziano
(February 26, 2002)
If the First Amendment means anything, it means that Congress cannot try to limit the amount of campaign speech or spending.
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Why is "Campaign Finance Reform" Popular--Amongst Politicians?
by Thomas Sowell
(February 22, 2002)
Why is campaign finance reform so popular--and with whom? This is not something that the public is demanding.
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Campaign Finance Reform: Wrong Target
by Walter Williams
(February 7, 2002)
Before becoming bamboozled by McCain's message, we might stop to ask: Are political contributions really the problem?
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