Scalia has already refuted that lie.
Beyond that, however, the present legislation targets for prohibition certain categories of campaign speech that are particularly harmful to incumbents. Is it accidental, do you think, that incumbents raise about three times as much “hard money”—the sort of funding generally not restricted by this legislation—as do their challengers? See FEC, 1999–2000 Financial Activity of All Senate and House Campaigns (Jan. 1, 1999–Dec. 31, 2000) (last modified on May 15, 2001), http://www.fec.gov/press/ 051501congfinact/tables/allcong2000.xls (all Internet ma- terials as visited Dec. 4, 2003, and available in Clerk of Court’s case file). Or that lobbyists (who seek the favor of incumbents) give 92 percent of their money in “hard” contributions? See U. S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), The Lobbyist’s Last Laugh: How K Street Lob- byists Would Benefit from the McCain-Feingold Cam- paign Finance Bill 3 (July 5, 2001), http://www.pirg.org/ democracy/democracy.asp?id2=5068. Is it an oversight, do you suppose, that the so-called “millionaire provisions” raise the contribution limit for a candidate running against an individual who devotes to the campaign (as challengers often do) great personal wealth, but do not raise the limit for a candidate running against an individ- ual who devotes to the campaign (as incumbents often do) a massive election “war chest”? See BCRA §§304, 316, and 319. And is it mere happenstance, do you estimate, that national-party funding, which is severely limited by the Act, is more likely to assist cash-strapped challengers than flush-with-hard-money incumbents? See A. Gierzynski & D. Breaux, The Financing Role of Parties, in Campaign Finance in State Legislative Elections 195–200 (J. Thomp- son & S. Moncrief eds. 1998). Was it unintended, by any chance, that incumbents are free personally to receive some soft money and even to solicit it for other organiza- tions, while national parties are not?